The Lost Guardian
by playing-in-the-mud
Summary: After decades of being a Guardian, Jack is more powerful than ever before, until he disappears without a trace. 17 years later, the Guardians find a human teenager who can see them but wants nothing to do with them. Problem is that he's Jack Frost. human!Jack
1. Chapter 1: Not Forgotten

**Summary: After decades of being a Guardian, Jack is more powerful than ever before until he disappears without a trace. 17 years later, the Guardians find a human teen who can see them but wants nothing to do with them. Problem is that he's Jack Frost. **

**Setting: Takes place almost a century after the events of **_**Rise of the Guardians.**_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Not Forgotten**

* * *

A blur of rainbow colors raced through the blizzard at top speed. The fairy's breaths came in short gasps, and her heart pounded wildly in her chest.

Under her breath, the fairy muttered something like a chant, or maybe it was a prayer.

Her destination came into sight, and she zipped up the side of the building and through an open window. Warmth hit her as soon as she exited the frigid North Pole air, but for once she did not stop to enjoy it.

Her gaze swept frantically over the assembled figures. Her friends had all arrived before her. All but one that is.

The fairy queen tried to swallow past the lump in her throat, and she descended at a much slower pace. Around her head, her entourage of fairies voiced the distress that was most likely written all over her face.

Bunny was the first one to catch sight of her.

"Tooth," he grunted gruffly.

The tooth fairy nodded, trying not to take the Easter Bunny's rather curt greeting to heart. He was probably just as worried as she was.

"Nothing?" she asked.

Tooth scanned the faces of her friends, hoping that one of them had at least found a clue.

Her heart fell as one by one each one of her fellow Guardians shook their heads.

"Could be an elaborate prank," Bunny suggested. He tried to make his voice annoyed, but Tooth knew him too well. None of the others seemed to buy it either

When his comment was met with silence, the rabbit tried again, a little more desperately. "He could just want some time alone. He does that from time to time."

"Pranks never this elaborate. Never this long," North spoke up. "And even if boy does not visit us, other spirits would have caught sight of him. No one I have talked to have seen boy for months."

"Hate to say it, but it's been quiet on my end to," Bunny sighed, his ears falling in defeat.

Golden sand flew into the air. Images of little tooth fairies fluttered around a golden globe.

"I'm sorry, Sandy," Tooth sighed. "My girls have been nearly all over and haven't caught sight of him."

Golden sand shifted into a moon and then an arrow pointing skyward.

Four pairs of eyes turned towards the opening in the roof where the moon was clearly visible in the night sky.

"Man in Moon," North began respectfully. "Do you have any guidance to offer us in this time?"

Silence.

"So the ol' bloke doesn't know anythin' or won't say. Helpful," Bunny snorted.

The sandman gave the rabbit a reproachful look, but it went unnoticed.

"But storms are still goin'. He's got to be out there," Bunny all but protested.

North shook his head. "Storms can still go without him. Child is more like shepherd, not sole master."

If possible, the rabbit warrior's ears flattened even harder against his skull. The dream weaver's eyes widened, pain and disbelief written in them.

"He can't be—" Bunny started and then stopped, unsure how to say it.

"No!" Tooth exclaimed.

The other three startled at her shout, surprised at their gentlest member's outburst.

"No," Tooth repeated more softly. She pointed to the large globe in North's workshop where the little lights of belief winked down on them. "Those represent the children's belief in _all_ of us. Can't you feel it? They still believe in him, and they wouldn't do that if there isn't someone to believe in. He's still out there somewhere."

The queen stared fiercely at the little, twinkling lights, trying to draw strength from their warmth.

"There's still hope. Our winter child's still out there," she finished in a soft but firm voice.

"Tooth is right," North declared. "Children have not given up on him, so neither will we. No matter how long it takes."

Around the circle of friends, nods and affirmative murmurs were given in response.

"We won't abandon him again," Bunny announced. "It's a mistake we can't afford to make again."

Tooth left North's workshop at least feeling encouraged by her friends determination, but as soon as she once again reached the winter landscape that surrounded the workshop in all directions, her eyes stung with unshed tears.

Her little fairies buzzed around her head, twittering their comforts and support.

She swiped a hand delicately across her face and took in the scene with clear vision.

Six months to this night, the guardians had noticed one of there number missing. How much longer he had been gone before that, no one knew. Four months ago began the worldwide search with no sight or sign of their Guardian of Fun.

"Oh, Jack," she whispered to the quiet of the night. "Where have you gone?"

* * *

**17 years later**

* * *

The wind whipped against anything it could find—the walls of houses, tree branches, and a certain little fairy.

Baby Tooth trilled defiantly at the storm, pushing her head into the wind and beating her wings even faster.

Her queen had chosen her specifically for this mission, and she would not fail her queen nor would she fail the child.

Tonight, a violent storm battered the town of Burgess relentlessly. When the queen had gotten the alert that a tooth was waiting for them in Burgess, she had hesitated.

The queen never faltered in her work, but for that one moment, the queen worried that storm would be too much for her girls.

But the queen and her troops have not missed a tooth since the Nightmare King's attack almost a century ago, and she was not going to break that streak now, _especially_ now.

In the past decade, the world had been plunged into a time of violent storms. Without its winter child, the wind howled its rage at the world and searched desperately its long time companion.

The Guardians had tried to calm the wind's fury, but its rage could not be tempered, and it had only gotten worse over the years.

No, the fairy queen could not let this tooth go unanswered, not when the world needed even the smallest of lights.

So the queen had squared her shoulder and chose her little fighter to brave the storm.

She placed her blessing on the little fairy, but even with all her queen's strength, Baby Tooth was losing.

_Please,_ Baby Tooth called to the wind. _Let me through._

The wind did not listen.

Despite her exhaustion, Baby Tooth began to talk, soothing the wind.

She spoke of her memories of the frost child and how she too loved and missed him. The wind calmed for a moment, and the little fighter took her chance and sped through the snow.

She managed to reach the window before the wind began to howl its rage again, but it sounded more like a moan now as if Baby Tooth's stories had saddened it. She wrestled with the lock, and with a gust of wind, the window blew open with a loud bang.

Baby Tooth shrieked as wind and ice drove into her face. With more strength than one would expect from the tiny fairy, she shoved the window close again and the lock fell back into place.

The little fairy panted into the silence.

After a moment, the fairy's eyes widened, and she whirled, expecting to see an awakened child. But the room was empty.

Confused, Baby Tooth flew over to the bed and hovered over the vacant pillow. This was the place—she could sense that—but she could also sense that no tooth was in the immediate facility. Taking a breath, the fairy extended her senses. Baby Tooth released a sigh of relief after a moment. She was in the right house, just not the right room.

She slipped out of the room and headed to where she felt the tooth calling her.

She found the child. He was about ten and slept with his mouth slightly open so that the fairy could clearly see the new gap in his mouth.

The sight of teeth sent a shock of excitement through her body. The tooth was so close! Baby Tooth hesitated though.

There was a teenager in the room, definitely too old to still believe and therefore would not be able to see her, but teenagers and adults always made her nervous.

The teen was obviously the boy's older brother if the twin messes of brown locks where anything to go by. The teen also had an arm thrown over the younger boy in a protective gesture.

The smaller boy sighed in his sleep and snuggled closer to the teen. The sight made Baby Tooth soften ever so slightly, and she approached the bed carefully.

She easily wiggled her way under the boy's pillow and—oh!

Baby Tooth held back a coo of delight. The tooth seemed to shine with its own light. It had obviously been well taken care of, and when she laid her hands on the tooth, she could feel the good memories thrumming underneath its pearly surface.

She quickly unlatched the coin attached to her belt and placed it gently onto the bed. Taking hold of the tooth—the queen is going to love it!—she snuck her way back up to the surface.

Baby Tooth observed the tooth out of the darkness of the pillow's underside, wondering how to secure it to her person so the winds would not whisk it away when she went back out.

She shuddered, dreading the journey back out into the storm.

Suddenly, a six sense tingled to life, and her back felt like it was heating up. The fairy whirled, almost dropping the tooth in the process, and came face-to-face with the teenager.

Baby Tooth almost wished she was back out in the storm.

"I knew you would come," the teenager whispered.

How could he see her?

"James was afraid you wouldn't come because of the storm," the teenager continued, rubbing his little brother's arm absent-mindedly.

She needed to run, fly, anything! But she was frozen. She had never dealt with teenagers before. There had never been a real need to.

The teen reached towards her, and she flinched away, but he only flicked on a lamp that sat on his nightstand.

In the soft light of the lamp, Baby Tooth got a good look at the teen for the first time.

She nearly screamed.

Those eyes! Even brown instead blue, she recognized them.

And there was no mistaking that face.

That night, Baby Tooth did something she had never done in all her time of service.

She dropped the tooth.

_Jack_, she whispered.

* * *

**So maybe I should finish my other stories first, but this one has brought out of my writer's block, and I thought I might as well publish it. Enjoy!**

**~playing-in-the-mud**


	2. Chapter 2: A Brother's Belief

**Chapter 2 – A Brother's Belief**

* * *

_**Previously**_

_Those eyes! Even brown instead blue, she recognized them._

_And there was no mistaking that face. _

_That night, Baby Tooth did something she had never done in all her time of service._

_She dropped the tooth._

_Jack, she whispered._

* * *

**The day before**

* * *

"Jack!"

The brown-haired teenager slouched in his seat, trying to swallow the bite of sandwich he had just taken. He knew that voice, and he knew that tone; whoever was calling him wanted a favor—most likely something that would get him in trouble.

Couldn't he just have this school lunch in peace?

"He hasn't seen me, has he?" the 17-year-old whispered to the girl across the school lunch table.

"Nah, he's still hasn't spotted you," the girl replied while flicking her blonde hair over one shoulder.

The teenager was just about to slink underneath the table in the most dignified way he could manage when—

"Jack! My ol' buddy, ol' pal!"

Hands slapped the skinny teen in the back with each word, and Jack felt teeth rattle inside his mouth.

Whoever was currently using his backside as a drum decided that hearty thwacks to the back were not an efficient way of showing one's affection, so the hands abruptly stopped, and Jack then found himself tightly wrapped in an awkward side-hug.

"Liar," he mouthed at the blonde girl across from him.

The girl only shrugged and took another bite from her lunch as if to hide that little smirk forming on the corners of her mouth.

"Mi amigo, friend!" his assailant continued as he rubbed his face on Jack's shoulder.

"What do you want, Kyle?" Jack said, smashing his palm into the other boy's face and forcing him away to a more acceptable distance.

"Hey, BFF! What makes you think that I want anything?" the boy said with a fake pout. "Maybe I've just missed you in this oh-so-very long hour that we've been away. Maybe your presence just lights up my day! Maybe—"

"Because the last time I saw you with that canary eating grin, I ended up cleaning up your mess. Do you know how hard it is to convince the principal—the _principal—_not to call your parents?" Jack asked.

"No," Kyle admitted. "I let you do that messy work since you're so good at it. You and your silver tongue, you."

With a final slap to Jack's abused back, the redheaded teen plopped down into the vacant spot at their lunch table.

"So, Jack, chum, homie, my dawg."

"Kyle, I'm going to puke on you," the blonde girl stated with a very serious look in her eyes.

"Whoa, Karla. Woke up on the wrong side of the bed?" Kyle snickered.

"I was having a lovely day before you walked into the room," she replied easily.

"Sweet as always, my dear Karla," Kyle said. He reached across the table and patted her cheek, and she promptly snapped at his fingers with her teeth.

Before Kyle could complain, a new voice spoke up, "Okay, I was going to ask if this seat is open, but you two are fighting again, and Jack has that I'm-going-to-strangle-Kyle face as always, so maybe I'll just back away slowly."

The trio looked up to see a brunette, clutching a sack lunch. Her face scrunched in a dubious expression.

"Sit here, Christina," Karla told the new girl, patting the seat next to her. "I'll break Kyle's fingers for you if he does anything."

"Well," Kyle said, turning his attention back to Jack. "So Jack, I might need a teensy-weensy favor from you."

"Again," Jack muttered into his sandwich.

"We're not counting are we, buddy?" Kyle laughed.

"It's only been 53 times this year and we haven't even made it to winter break yet," Jack replied.

"So we are keeping track. Cool!" Kyle said. "How 'bout making that an even 54, and I'll buy you a soda or something."

"How generous of you," Karla noticed.

"Exactly!" Kyle exclaimed. "I'm a very generous person."

"What's 54, Kyle?" Jack prompted before Karla could hit the redhead.

"I might want to get into Brittney McCracken's locker," Kyle said, waggling his eyebrows so it looked like his forehead was having a spasm.

"I would do that because…"

"Brittney has an overblown ego and mouth that runs a little too fast and a little too much, so in other words she's a b—"

"Granted, all those things you've said are true," Karla interrupted. "I still don't see why your genius brain of yours can't get yourself into her locker. Why drag Jack into this?"

"Because the only ways I can think of to get into her locker are a little too… explosive," Kyle said. "This mission requires stealth, and that's were Jack's nimble, magic fingers come in!"

"What would you do when you get into the locker?" Christina asked.

"I'll give you a hint. It involves a catapult and snowballs." Kyle grinned mischievously.

"How do you plan to use snowballs in a heated building?" Karla questioned.

"Oh, yea of little faith," Kyle said with a dramatic flourish of the hand. "I have my ways."

And Jack didn't doubt it. Kyle currently held a C average in his high school classes, but he was a genius in every sense of the word. The only problem was that Kyle could not seem to focus his ADHD mind on academics and instead applied it to more… creative means.

If Kyle said he was going to fit a fully functioning snowball catapult in a locker, Kyle was going to fit a fully functioning snowball catapult. No whats, ifs, or buts.

"Well," Jack drawled, once again reclaiming his friend's attention. "Since it includes snowballs, and a soda afterwards, I guess I could probably pop open a certain locker for you."

"Yes!" Kyle said, pumping his fist into the air while Karla groaned.

"Wonderful," Karla moaned. "The start of World War III is unfolding before our very eyes."

Kyle seemed to take that comment personally and began listing all the reasons of why that observation was blown grossly out of proportion.

It did not take long for the two of them to begin a full-out shouting match with poor Christina in the middle, trying to tell the both of them to shut up before they got thrown out of the cafeteria again.

Jack leaned back in his chair—enjoying the sight of his friends being… well, his friends—and laughed.

* * *

"Because of the unexpected fast approach of the storm, all of the Burgess school district is closing down early in anticipation of unsafe road conditions. Your parents have been notified, but we suggest that you individually contact your parents and that you get home as soon as possible," the PA system buzzed throughout the school. "Again, school is being let out early because of unsafe road conditions. This week's storm seems to be approaching much more quickly than anticipated, and we suggest that you return home quickly."

Jack slung his backpack over one shoulder and slammed his locker door shut.

"Bummer, isn't it?" Kyle's voice came from his left.

"Yep. Rain check on that locker deal then?" Jack responded.

Kyle gave an unhappy grunt, eyeing Brittney where she was giggling with a bunch of her friends. "Well, at least we get a short school day out of it," Kyle muttered. "But I was looking forward to seeing her smug, little face covered in icy, little particles.

Jack gave a sharp laugh.

"Couldn't be helped," he told his friend, slinging an arm over the redhead's shoulder. "Storm's coming. They got to get us students home before it hits."

Jack's little cell phone buzzed, and he glanced at the screen

"Do you need a ride home?" Jack asked. "Mom just texted me that she's almost here. We could drop you off on the way home."

"Nah, dude," Kyle replied. "Karla's giving me a ride."

"Is that a good idea?"

"I'm pretty sure she won't wreck us," Kyle said with a grin.

"Not that," Jack replied. "I'm more worried about you two being in a confined area together for an extended period of time."

"We could last a few minutes in each other's presence without killing each other!" Kyle protested.

Jack's phone buzzed again, and without even looking at his screen, he said, "That's my mom. I'll see you later as long as Karla doesn't strangle you."

"Why is it that you think I'm the one that's going to die between the two of us?" Kyle whined. "I could take her in a fight."

Jack snorted, "She could handle you blindfolded and with both hands tied behind her back." Jack hit the phone icon on his screen and brought the cell phone to his ear. "Hey, Mom. I'm heading out now."

"Hi, Mrs. Bennett!" Kyle yelled into Jack's ear. "Your son's being mean."

"See you soon, Jack. And tell Kyle to knock it off," his mom's voice sounded in the speaker.

Kyle wailed something about the whole Bennett family being against him as Jack hung up and bid his friend good-bye.

The fresh air hit him like a slap to a face, and Jack released a laugh into the still winter air. A small snowstorm had already covered the town in snow days before, but soon the coming storm would dump a new batch of white powder on Burgess.

A honking car caught the teen's attention, and he jogged over to the red minivan.

"Hey, Mom," Jack greeted as he slid into the passenger side.

"Beautiful, isn't it," the women at the wheel said, nodding at the snow-covered ground. "Pity that the storm's coming earlier so that we can't enjoy this little bit now."

"More the merrier?" Jack suggested.

The women frowned. "From what I heard, it might be a little too much," she said almost too softly for the teen to hear.

"Jack, look! Look!"

Small hands were shoved into Jack's face, and feet pounded the back of Jack's seat.

"James Samuel Bennett," Mrs. Bennett scolded. "Feet down."

The thumping stopped, but the hands still shoved themselves into Jack's personal space, offering Jack something he could not yet see.

The teen opened his hands, and a tiny white object plopped into Jack's hand.

"Another tooth!" James crowed.

Jack carefully pinched the tooth between two fingers and inspected it carefully in the watery winter light.

"Good job, bud," Jack said, handing the tooth back to his little brother. "How'd it come out?"

"Melissa socked me in the face," the boy said matter-a-factually.

"James," Mrs. Bennett reprimanded. "What were you doing in a fight?"

"It wasn't a fight!" the boy protested. "I asked her to. The tooth was just wiggling. Melissa bet she could get it out for me."

Mrs. Bennett shook her head, giving Jack a pointed look.

"What?" the teen asked. "I didn't give him to idea."

"Well, your father didn't teach him that. I certainly didn't teach him that. You really don't know how much your brother looks up to you?" Mrs. Bennett responded.

Jack knew. Of course he knew.

He gave his mother an apologetic smile.

"Do you think it'll be alright for tonight?" James asked, his voice suddenly soft with concern.

"What, bud?" Jack said.

"The Tooth Fairy!" James exclaimed. "It's supposed to really bad tonight, right? Can she make it through the storm?"

"Hey, hey, bud." Jack turned in his seat, so he could look at his little brother. "The Tooth Fairy's tough. A little storm can't keep her away. She'll get the tooth, and you'll get your prize."

"You think so, Jack?" the boy asked.

"Hey, have I ever tricked you?"

A smile broke over the boy's face. "Always."

Jack heard a muffled snort from his mother, but ignored it. "Well, not this time. Losing a tooth is some serious business. She'll come. Promise."

James smiled and nodded vigorously.

Jack turned back to face forward in his seat, and he heard his mom whisper a small thank you, but he turned away instead of acknowledging it.

"Better come tonight, Tooth Fairy," Jack muttered under his breath. "Don't make a liar of me."

* * *

Jack had always been a light sleeper.

The wind rattled his windows and swirled the snow around in an icy flurry. The storm had come, but that was not what had awakened the teen.

"Jack," came the voice again, soft and insistent.

The teenager rolled over and found a pair of brown eyes level with his own.

"James?" Jack whispered groggily. "What time is it?"

He glanced over and caught sight of his clock flashing 12:52.

"Go back to bed, bud," Jack yawned. "I told you, I will only do these early mornings with you on Christmas."

"It's not that, Jack," James said. The wind slammed a branch across Jack's bedroom window, and Jack saw his little brother tense at the sound.

Sighing, Jack scooted to one side of his bed and held the covers open. "Come on."

James immediately shuffled his way under the blankets and pressed himself as close to his older brother as humanly possible. Jack could feel the boy's body shaking.

"You have nothing to be afraid of," Jack promised into the younger boy's hair. "I'm here."

Jack felt the boy nod, and gradually, the shaking stopped.

"I brought my tooth," James whispered.

Jack caught a flash of something white before James shoved it underneath his side of the pillow.

"She'll find it, right? Even if I'm in here?" the boy inquired hopefully.

"She can brave a storm," Jack stated. "I'm pretty sure she can brave the horrors of my room."

"As long as she doesn't find that stash of dirty underwear," James breathed.

"And how do you know of that, you little sneak," Jack whispered, poking his little brother in the side.

James giggled and squirmed away from Jack's probing. "All I have to do is follow my nose."

Jack chucked. "Go to sleep bud. I promise to not steal your tooth treasure."

"Pinky promise?" James held up his little finger.

"Pinky promise," Jack confirmed, linking his own finger around his brother's.

Jack felt like he had just closed his eyes when something jerked underneath his head.

Jack's eyes flew open and darted around the room, trying to locate the foreign movement.

The shadows had all changed, so it must have been a few hours later.

Again it happened, and Jack held his breath as a little green head poked itself out from underneath his pillow. The little fairy came into full view, holding James's tooth in both hands.

She was so small, Jack noticed. Delicate and beautiful. Tiny, iridescent wings twitched against her back, and Jack's brown eyes took in all the details of her body. Jack could not believe it; he stared in awe at the creature that he assured his younger brother would come. He knew without any doubt she would come, but he never actually thought he would have a chance to see her.

She suddenly whirled and stared with wide eyes at Jack, obviously not expecting him to be awake. Jack forced himself not to move so to not startle her even further.

After a moment's silence, Jack whispered, "I knew you would come."

She did not say anything, so Jack decided to fill the silence himself.

"James was afraid you wouldn't come because of the storm." Jack considered waking up his little brother, but decided against it. His brother was most likely exhausted from his nighttime scare, and perhaps he could convince the little fairy to stay until the morning.

Deciding he wanted a better look at the fairy, Jack reached across and flipped on his lamp.

The fairy squeaked, and Jack almost cursed himself for startling her.

Her tiny hands slipped on the tooth's smooth surface, and it dropped onto the pillow.

"Whoops," Jack said, catching the tooth before it could slip over the pillow's edge. "Don't loose this. It's very precious."

Jack could have sworn the fairy was blushing as she took back the tooth.

He was about to withdraw his hand, but the fairy grabbed one of his fingers and chittered at him. Jack got his first good look at the fairy and stared intently at the blue and purple color of her eyes.

"I—" Jack began to say, but was cut short as a searing, white-hot pain flashed behind his eyes.

* * *

**Kind of choppy and short, but I just wanted to show a little of Jack's human life plus the people in his life now play an important role for what Jack does in the future. May be cause for some dilemma later… o.O**

**This is not a JackxOC fic for those who might be wondering. I plan to keep the OC participation at a minimum although they are important. **

**Thank you for all who reviewed/favorite/followed. This is the best response I've ever received for a story, and it's super encouraging. Your support helps me write faster! :)**

**Anonymous review responses:**

**Wanderlust: **Well I'm glad you found this fic then! Thanks for your review! Don't worry; I'm trying my hardest to get through this story. It annoys me too when people abandon stories (although I'm kinda guilty of that :P).

**Guest (1): **Thanks for the review! :D I hope I can keep wowing you.

**Guest (2): **I'm writing! I hope the future chapters just as good as the first. Thanks!

**Violet: **Well, I'm glad you happened upon this story. I'm pretty dead set on continuing this story, so I hope it lives up to your anticipation. Thanks!

**Tobi: **Here's your update! Hopefully I can keep a consistent weekly update… We'll see… Thanks for the review!

**~playing-in-the-mud**


	3. Chapter 3: The Boy of Two Worlds

**Chapter 3 – The Boy of Two Worlds**

* * *

_**Previously**_

_He was about to withdraw his hand, but the fairy grabbed one of his fingers and chittered at him. Jack got his first good look at the fairy and stared intently at the blue and purple color of her eyes. _

"_I—" Jack began to say, but was cut short as a searing, white-hot pain flashed behind his eyes._

* * *

Jack gripped his head between two hands as if he were trying to keep it from splitting open. He breathes raggedly between clenched teeth, while instinctively curling into tight ball.

Concerned chittering echoed somewhere to his left, but it only served to add to the hammering in his skull.

"Quiet," Jack hissed. "I need to… need to…"

Jack was not sure what he needed to do, but there was something… something important. If only he could remember…

As soon as it came, it left, leaving a dull ache in its place.

Jack grimaced and glanced over to where James still slept, undisturbed. The teenager released a sigh of relief and rubbed his head with one hand.

"Migraine," Jack muttered.

Carefully, he untangled himself out from the sheets. The fairy buzzed around his head, her high, soft voice chattering indistinguishably at him.

"I'm fine," Jack whispered back at her. "Just need some aspirin or something."

Quietly, the teenager snuck out of the room and headed downstairs towards the kitchen cupboards. Snapping up a bottle and barely glancing at the label, Jack popped a pill in his mouth and swallowed it dry.

"Would you like anything?" he asked, directing his attention to his guest again. "Hungry? Thirsty?"

She nodded at the last one, and he got a glass from the cupboard. Filling the cup all the way to the rim, Jack set the cup gently on the kitchen table. He watched as the fairy balanced on the edge of the rim, and dipped her beak-like mouth into the water.

Jack sat heavily on one of the kitchen chairs, still messaging his temple.

"For some reason, I always thought the Tooth Fairy was bigger," Jack commented.

The fairy looked up from her drink, looking offended, but them her brow relaxed and she shook her head and twittered in her strange language.

"What?" Jack asked, confused.

She chirped again, pointing at herself and shaking her head. She pointed at the tooth and made a motion with it as if she was giving it to someone.

"You're… not the Tooth Fairy?" Jack guessed.

An affirmative nod.

"You're… her helper?"

Another nod.

She began speaking again, sounding urgent. She gestured at Jack and made a sound as if asking a question.

"Sorry," Jack said. "I'm not getting what you're trying to say."

She tried again, her speech going faster and higher. She began to sound distressed, and Jack frowned, wondering what he had done wrong. Maybe he was not supposed to see her.

Instead of responding, Jack reached across and ran a gentle finger against the side of her head, hoping the gesture would convey his apology for whatever this was. She stilled at his touch, and when he was about to take his hand away, she grabbed a finger with her free hand and nuzzled it with her cheek.

She stared intently at him as if trying to tell him something with her gaze.

"You are beautiful, little fairy," Jack said.

She shivered at the sound of his voice, and Jack realized that her hand was freezing.

"The storm," Jack realized. "Here; just a second."

He ran to where his mom kept the clean kitchen towels and grabbed one.

He placed it on the table and then went back to cabinet where he got the aspirin. Grabbing a hand warmer, Jack turned back to the table where the fairy was already wrapping herself in the towel. He shook the hand warmer until it began to warm under his fingers and placed it next to the fairy.

The fairy gratefully huddled against the warmth.

Jack sat back down, and they stayed like that in silence. Every now and then the fairy would give him little baleful glances, but she did not try to speak to him again. Eventually she shrugged off the towel and trilled something.

Jack had dozed off for a moment and it took him a moment to realize she was pointing at the window.

"You want to go back out there?" Jack asked.

The fairy nodded.

"You can't," Jack blurted out.

The fairy looked at him in surprise, not expecting his outburst.

"The storm," Jack clarified. "It's supposed to go on for days."

The fairy made the motion of giving the tooth to someone and then pointed back at the window. She puffed up her chest and straightened her wings as if to say, _I'll be all right. _

"You're brave, little fairy," Jack chuckled, running a finger against her cheek again. She seemed to savor the touch. "Are you sure there is nothing I can do to convince you to stay? James would love to meet you."

She shook her head and took to the air. She floated over the window, clearly determined to leave as soon as possible.

Jack sighed. Something told him that if he did not let her out, she would find her own way out somehow. After all, she had found her way inside.

"Safe journey, little fairy," Jack told her.

He put his hand on the window's latch, and she squeaked. Faster than his eyes could follow, she zipped over to his face and somehow managed to give him a small peck on the cheek. Before Jack could realize what the fairy had done, she returned to the window, the tooth held firmly between her two tiny hands.

Jack nodded one last time to the fairy and opened the window.

The fairy charged headfirst into the storm, and Jack soon lost sight of her green body in the swirl of white.

* * *

"Lateral incisor in Djibouti, Sector Three. Has someone already taken the one in New York? 23rd Street. Let's go, ladies! A first premolar is waiting in Tver, Sector Five."

Tooth took a deep breath, ready to rattle another list of directions, when a sharp cry cut through the normal buzz of activity in her palace. Waves of distress and excitement rolled off one of her children, and the queen turned in time to see a green blur barrel into her command center.

"Baby Tooth, dear," Tooth called out, opening up her hands.

The little fairy dropped tiredly into her queen's palms and dropped a perfect white tooth.

"Oh," Tooth moaned, not because of the tooth, but because of all the emotions swirling around her little fighter.

Tooth let herself drop to the floor, her wings ceasing their furious beating in a moment of uncharacteristic stillness. Baby Tooth organized her thoughts and sent the events of the past day to her queen.

There was the storm her little fighter had to fly through, but she had made it through. She found the tooth, and oh, wasn't it beautiful? But then there was the boy. The boy with the wrong eyes that held no recognition. And the hands that stroked her gently in such a familiar way, but held too little and too much warmth at the same time.

Her brave one started to shed tears as the confusion and exhaustion became too much.

"Hush now, Baby Tooth," Tooth soothed. "You have done well."

She handed off the tooth to be properly stored away and sent messages to her other Guardians.

She stroked Baby Tooth's head, hope and distress blooming in her chest as she saw the boy's face through her fairy's eyes.

"Come quickly, my friends," Tooth murmured as she watched her messengers take to the sky. "Please hurry."

* * *

The other three Guardians found the fairy queen sitting quietly on one of her many platforms throughout her palace. It was a strange, almost disturbing sight. The Tooth Fairy rarely stopped her work.

As they drew near, they could hear her whispering to something in her lap, "How did I not see it before? The answer was always here. If I wasn't so busy, I would have seen it."

"Oi, sheila." Bunny hopped over to the Tooth Fairy. "We're here to help. What's buggin' ya?"

Tooth looked up at her friend with bright and teary eyes. "We found Jack."

Bunny jerked away from her as if he had been burned and sat back slowly on his haunches.

"Then he is here, no?" North asked eagerly. He twisted around, expecting a familiar mop of white hair and bright smile to come out from behind one of the many pillars.

Sandy sensed the Tooth Fairy's deeper hurt and took one of her hands, squeezing it questioningly.

She handed one of the objects in her lap to Bunny. "What do you see?" she asked.

Bunny took the item cautiously and felt the familiar weight of a regular tooth box. He handled it carefully and turned the box so that the painted face of a boy smirked up at him.

The Easter Bunny swallowed back a lump as he recognized the mischievous face; he had not seen this box since nearly a century ago. He inspected the box more carefully, but saw nothing had changed since he saw it last.

"This is the little bugger's box," Bunny muttered. "Tooth, I don't understand what this here has to do with finding Jack."

"What is this then?" Tooth said instead of answering Bunny. She shoved another tooth box towards the rabbit, startling him.

He took it from her and looked down at the face painted on it. His brow creased in confusion, and he heard North give a grunt of surprise as he too noticed the strangeness of the two boxes. He gave them to Sandy, so that he could see as well. The Sandman gave a small start of surprise.

The two boxes shared the same face.

"Jack has two boxes?" North asked, confused. "That is not right."

"No," Tooth gasped. "I mean, yes. They're both his."

She began speaking too fast for any of the other Guardians to decipher.

"Whoa, Toothy." Bunny held up for hands in a placating gesture. "Deep breaths and slow down."

She nodded, holding up a hand. A blur of green shot out from her swarm of little fairies and landed on her hand. It was Baby Tooth. Bunny could not be sure, but he thought that the tiny fairy had been crying recently.

"That box"—she pointed to the first box—"belongs to Jackson Overland. Jack's human life before he became Jack Frost."

They all knew that. Jack himself had told them the whole story maybe two decades after the Battle of Burgess.

Tooth pointed to the second box. "The second box belongs to Jack Bennett, a human teenager currently living in Burgess who also is Jack Frost."

"Tooth…" Bunny began, unsure how to tell her that she might be a little exhausted from a long day. They had suspected the Bennetts were indirectly related to Jack; it was not much of a surprise that one of them might look similar to him.

"Look," Tooth said. She took Bunny and North's hands in her own, and Sandy laid his on top of hers, knowing what she might do.

An image of a brown-haired boy flashed in their minds. They saw it for only a moment, but they had no doubt of whom he was. It was no family resemblance; it was the real deal.

"Jack!" North gasped.

An exclamation point followed by a question mark formed over Sandy's head.

"Baby Tooth saw him last night," Tooth said miserably.

Bunny did not understand his friend's dismal behavior. "Where is he, Tooth?" he asked, hopping to his feet. He was going to strangle the kid after a good solid hug. "What are we all doing just sitting around here for? Let's get him."

Tooth looked up at Bunny with large, sad eyes. Baby Tooth chittered forlornly from where she sat on Tooth's shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Bunny questioned. He needed to go—to make sure Jack was all right.

"He did not recognize Baby Tooth when he saw her," Tooth explained quietly. "Baby Tooth said that he seemed like a normal teenage boy. He doesn't know he's Jack Frost. He doesn't know us."

The Tooth Palace went silent. Even Tooth's armada of fairies was quiet. Outside, the wind groaned as if mourning Tooth's words.

"That's impossible!" Bunny spat in a harsher tone then he meant to.

"Bunny is right," North agreed although his eyes reprimanded the rabbit for his harsh tone. "Jack is Jack. He cannot be someone else."

"I know that," Tooth returned. "But I saw it through Baby Tooth's eyes. That really is Jack, and he really is human."

Sandy patted her leg as if to say, _I believe you._

Tooth gripped Sandy's hand and smiled at her friend.

"There was something else," Tooth started. "Baby Tooth also said that Jack reacted strangely to her. He had a headache for a moment. Maybe the memories are still there and Baby Tooth's presence was bringing them out? Our Jack might not be all gone."

Sandy looked at the other two Guardians. Golden sand formed the image of Jack and then swirled into the symbol for a heart that pulsed with an imaginary beat.

North nodded. "You are right, old friends—as always. Jack is still alive." He looked Bunny. "There is still hope, and now we know where to find him."

"So what do we do now?" Bunny asked. "Stick him in a sack and bring him back?"

North opened his mouth, but Bunny shot him a disapproving look.

"Sarcasm, mate," Bunny said before North could declare that a good idea. "Jack hardly appreciated it as Frost. I don't think he'll appreciate it any more as an amnesiac human."

Tooth lifted her head and said timidly, "If it is alright with the rest of you, I would like to speak to Jack before the rest of you. As the Guardian of Memories, maybe I could help him recall something."

The three males shared glances and came at a silent consensus.

"Sounds reasonable," Bunny grunted. "If that doesn't work, there are other ways to jog the bugger's memories."

The Easter Bunny made a show of smacking a fist to his other palm, which Tooth thought looked ridiculous. Tooth giggled, her spirits lifted just a little.

A warm hand landed on her shoulder, and North gave a forced chuckle.

"Hopefully, situation will not call for that, yes?" North said. "We hope for your success, and may Man in Moon go with you."

* * *

**Again, a huge thank you to all my readers :D**

**Answers to anonymous reviews:**

**Guest (1): **haha great… now I've started a movement… (-_-)'

**Guest (2): **And… here's the update :) Thanks for your review!

**Devil angel: **Thanks for you review! Glad to see you're enjoying the story so far.

**~playing-in-the-mud**


	4. Chapter 4: Here to Stay

**Chapter 4 – Here to Stay**

* * *

_**Previously**_

_Tooth lifted her head and said timidly, "If it is alright with the rest of you, I would like to speak to Jack before the rest of you. As the Guardian of Memories, maybe I could help him recall something."_

_The three males shared glances and came at a silent consensus._

_North grunted, "We hope for your success, and may Man in Moon go with you."_

* * *

Jack almost did not hear the knocking over the howling wind.

It was the third night of the storm, and the storm had not even reached its climax yet.

At first, Jack excused the little knocking sound for a tree branch hitting against his window. He barely glanced up from the book in his hand. Seriously, the teachers just had to assign homework on these snow days?

The knocking came again, and when Jack did not answer it right away, it became an insistent pounding.

Jack's head jerked up at the sound, and he saw the silhouette of a figure in his window.

Jack leapt out of his bed and rushed to the window, barely questioning the fact that his room was two stories up.

"What are you doing out in this storm?" Jack yelled over the wind as he opened the window.

The snow-covered figure did not answer, but rather rushed into the warmth of the room.

Jack wrestled with the window shutters, but his grip on them slipped as the wind and snow battered against him. The cold whipped at his exposed skin, and Jack could feel ice gathering on the tips of his hair. Jack grabbed at his shutters again and grunted in frustration as they refused to close. He pushed against the wind.

"Would you quit it," Jack growled out at no one in particular.

Jack lost his balance when the shutters suddenly closed. Jack got to his feet quickly and locked the window quickly before the wind could blow it open again, but there was no need. When he glanced outside again, the world was almost perfectly still.

Fat flakes still drifted lazily down, but they no longer whirled and danced wildly in the wind. The trees had ceased their crazy waving, and the howling had simply stopped.

"Weird," Jack muttered.

"The wind recognizes the voice of its closest companion," a young female voice said behind him.

Jack whirled; he had almost forgotten of his strange visitor.

The girl had brushed off almost all the snow, so Jack could see her clearly for the first time.

She was pretty.

Jack forgot her mysterious words as he took in the sight of her. She was not human; a half-blind person could see that. She wore no clothes, but she did not need to. A rainbow of feathers covered her body and trailed into a long train behind her. Most impressive of all were the iridescent wings stretched out behind her.

Jack's mind registered the wings in a vague stupor. Oh, that's how she got up to the second story.

"Who…?" Jack did not need to finish that question. He knew who she was.

"Hello, Jack." She said his name as if it held more weight than he knew of.

"You're the Tooth Fairy, aren't you?"

Something flashed in her eyes, and the soft lift in her lips dipped downwards.

Jack thought he had said something wrong, but she was smiling again before he could question it.

"You can call me Tooth," she offered. Something green darted away from her shoulder, and she added. "And that's Baby Tooth."

The green blur came to hover in front of him, and Jack recognized the little fairy from the other night.

"Hello again, Baby Tooth," Jack greeted, trying out the name.

The little fairy trilled happily.

Jack looked back at the Tooth Fairy. Mom had trained him to courteous to houseguests, but she had never told him what to do when supernatural beings came for an unexpected visit.

"Do you need anything?" Jack asked hesitantly. "A drink? A towel to dry off with?"

Tooth and Baby Tooth exchanged a glance that Jack did understand, and again Tooth looked sad, almost unbearably so.

"I'm fine, dear," the Tooth Fairy said graciously. "I just need to talk to you."

Jack felt like he was in the principal's office. He glanced over to where Baby Tooth was hovering.

"I'm not in trouble am I?"

Tooth laughed airily, but it sounded strange.

"No," she denied. "It's actually kind of complicated."

"Okay," Jack said carefully, his curiosity piqued. "I've got all night."

He gestured to his desk chair and plopped down on his bed. Tooth sat down in the chair delicately and fidgeted in her seat as if she was not used to using one.

"You don't seem all that… surprised with me being here," she began slowly.

Jack shrugged. "Oh, I get visits from supernatural beings all the time."

"Really?" She seemed a little too eager.

Jack gave an awkward laugh. "That was a joke."

"Oh." Tooth deflated. "Sorry, I don't have too many interactions with humans."

"It's alright," Jack said, making a note to keep his speech straightforward from now on. "And I am surprised. I just…"

Jack did not know how to explain it. It was the same when he saw Baby Tooth the other night. A part of him was ecstatic, eager to take in every detail of the fairy in front of him. The other part of him felt comfortable—felt _right_—with these supernatural being, and strangely enough, that seemed to mollify him.

"I've always believed in you," Jack said with a shrug.

"You do know that's unusual, right?" Tooth said. She did not say that unkindly, but with a smile that said this was significant for something.

Jack shrugged again. He knew he friends no longer believed, but his belief never struck him as odd.

"Why do you still believe, Jack?" Tooth pressed.

"Is this why you're here?" Jack asked.

"Partly," Tooth answered, making a motion with her hand as if to say, "Answer the question."

"I've never had a reason not to," Jack said slowly. "I mean, you're here now. You're just confirming something I always knew. Whether you've been here or not, you've always been a part of my life. I mean, I believe the pope exists, and I've never met him."

Tooth smiled as if his answer pleased her.

"And what of the others?" she asked. "Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Sandman?"

"Sure," came the easy answer.

"And Jack Frost?"

"Nips at your nose?" Jack joked with a smile. "Sure, him too."

"May I show you something?" Tooth inquired.

"Sure, wha—"

Tooth laid a finger on his temple before he could ask his question, and his vision went white.

A familiar laugh echoed in the whiteness. It took a moment for Jack to realize it was _his _laugh, but he had not opened his mouth and it was coming from a distance. The laugh came again and closer. A boy about Jack's age appeared out of what Jack now realized was snow. The boy held a strange staff and wore a blue hoodie.

He spotted Jack and grinned playfully at him. He seemed to float up to Jack and offered him a hand.

"Coming, Tooth?" the boy asked.

Jack knew that voice! Jack startled at the boy's voice and looked up to see him clearly for the first time.

The boy had blue eyes and white hair, but those were the only unfamiliar things, for the boy was wearing his face.

Jack gave a yell and found himself back in his bedroom.

Jack closed his eyes, but the image of the other boy was now burned into his memory, and it sent an electric shock through his body. The teen shook his head as if to dislodge the image.

"Jack, honey?" A knock sounded at his door.

When he did not answer right away, the voice behind the door said, "I'm coming in."

His mom opened the door, and her eyes roved around the room until it found Jack sprawled on his bed.

"Is everything okay?" Mrs. Bennett asked. "I heard you yell."

Jack's eyes flicked over to his desk where Tooth still sat in his chair.

"She can't see me," the fairy said.

Jack looked back at his mom and saw that she too was looking over at his desk.

"I thought I saw something move," Jack said quickly. "Over by the desk."

"Not mice, I hope," Mrs. Bennett said, coming in. "Your dad said he got rid of them all."

"I hope he did it in a harmless way," Tooth commented. She got up and hovered away when Jack's mom moved the chair away from the desk. "I'm rather fond of mice."

"It was probably just my imagination," Jack supplied. He tried not to look at the fairy and focus on his mother instead. The two separate conversations were starting to give him a headache.

His mother finished her inspection and nodded slowly.

"I hope it's just that," Mrs. Bennett muttered. "If you see anything else, you let us know. We already had one mouse problem this year, and that's as far as I want to take it."

She came over to where Jack still sat on his bed and kissed him lightly on the forehead.

"Don't stay up too late," Mrs. Bennett said, ignoring the mock gagging noises coming from her son. "I just heard the report and there's a possibility schools may reopen tomorrow. You'll need your rest then."

Jack ceased his furious rubbing on his forehead and stared in surprise at his mother.

"But they said the storm would last for at least a week. It's only been a few days," he protested.

"It's the strangest thing," Mrs. Bennett said. "The storm just cleared not too long ago and the weather report says the winds have changed, directing any more storms away from us."

"Strange," Jack agreed although his mind was thinking back to the boy with the white hair.

Mrs. Bennett caressed his cheek. "Good night, Jack."

Once the door closed behind his mother, Tooth spoke up, "She seems nice."

"What was that?" Jack hissed at her, careful to keep his voice low.

"The talking?" Tooth asked. "Sorry, I guess I shouldn't have talked to you while your mother was here. Sandy always says I need to learn to be a little more… reserved."

"Not that," Jack said. "The thing you showed me. Who was the boy?"

Tooth lowered herself back onto the desk chair; her soft smile that had been on her face since she arrived melted slowly off her face.

"That was a memory of mine," she explained. "I was playing with Jack Frost during that time. That had been one of the last times I saw him before he disappeared about 17 years ago."

She looked so sad that Jack had the urge to comfort her, but his mind was still struggling to understand something.

"But… but why did he look so much like… like me?" Jack finally got out.

Tooth stared intently at Jack's face, while Baby Tooth made a mournful noise.

She answered cautiously as if afraid of his response. "He looks so much like you because he _is _you."

Jack stared at her, not knowing how to respond to such a ridiculous statement, so he did what he always did when facing an unknown. He laughed.

"I can't be—He and I—My name's Bennett," Jack sputtered through slightly hysterical giggles.

Jack did not know why, but panic was starting to build in his chest.

"You are a Bennett," Tooth agreed. "But you are also Jack Frost."

"No," Jack denied firmly, his laughter ceasing. "I can't be both. That's impossible."

"Then how do you explain you and Frost looking the same? Your two appearances are not just similar; they are—minus a few coloration differences— the _same. _And how do you explain this?"

She took one of his hands in both of hers.

"You can see, hear, and touch me," Tooth declared. "Your belief is so strong even though you should have stopped believing years ago."

Jack jerked away his hand, feeling scared. "I don't know," he confessed. "I've always believed. It's never been a question for me. But you got the wrong guy. I'm not Jack Frost."

The moment the words left his mouth, Jack felt a twinge of regret as the words cost him something, but he set his mouth in a firm, stubborn line.

"I've known Jack Frost for almost a century. He has been my companion, friend, and comrade through so much. I know Jack Frost, and you are him," Tooth insisted gently.

She looked so sad, and Jack had the urge to comfort, but the only thing that would comfort her was to tell her he believed her. Jack may believe in many things, but this was not one of them.

"I'm 17," Jack said. "Not some centuries old spirit."

"Jack Frost has been missing for 17 years," Tooth reminded him.

"Doesn't really prove anything," Jack muttered.

"Here, do you mind holding something for a minute?" Tooth dug something out of a satchel and presented Jack with a golden cylinder.

Jack accepted it hesitantly, and his eyes widened when he saw it up close. It seemed to be pure gold and was bedecked in jewels. He almost gave it back in fear of handling something so precious, but the moment the cylinder touched his fingers, he had felt a connection to it. It felt right in his hands.

He ran a hand over what he assumed was the top of the container and the jewels began to glow. Jack gasped and drew back his fingers. The glowing stopped.

Jack looked up to Tooth for some sort of explanation and saw that she was now wearing a satisfied expression.

"Look at the side of the box," she instructed.

He did so and saw his likeness, if a little younger, painted on the side of the container.

"Why is my face on this?" he asked, partially dreading the answer.

"Each child has one," she explained. "My fairies and I store your teeth in these memory boxes for safe keeping."

"So this one is mine?"

"No, this one is." She took out another box and offered it to him.

Grimacing, Jack used his free hand to push away, not liking where this was going. When his fingers touched the second box, it too glowed, and Jack snapped his hand away.

"Why do they keep doing that?" he demanded.

Tooth set the box in her lap. "There are only two people who can open these memory boxes. Myself, and by extension my fairies, and the person whom the box belongs to. The boxes glow when their child is in need of them."

"So this one's mine," Jack asked, looking at the painted face on the side of the first box.

Tooth shrugged. "Yes and no. This one belongs to Jack Bennett," she said, holding up the one in her lap. "The one you hold belongs to Jack Frost."

Eyeing the container with a new sense of caution, Jack noted, "But it glowed when I touched the top."

The Tooth Fairy did not say anything, but instead gave him a pointed look.

Jack's mind suddenly clicked it all together.

Jack shoved the container towards Tooth who took it gently.

"That doesn't mean anything. Just because it glowed… I'm not Jack Frost," Jack repeated himself, but this time it sounded a little weaker.

"There are no exceptions," Tooth insisted. "Ever since a certain enemy stole the teeth years ago, my fairies and I have reinforced the magic surrounding these boxes. Besides myself, only the child can open the box."

Jack needed to move. He got up from his bed and started pacing, running his hands through his hair.

"Jack." Tooth hovered after him. "I don't tell you this to upset you, but we need you to come home."

"You don't need me. You're all big shots. I'm just—"

"You're underestimating your importance," Tooth said with a small smile. "Things around the world have been off balance ever since you disappeared. The rest of us have tried to soften the damage, but there are some things we cannot do. Jack Frost, you, have always been our linchpin even before you joined us."

Jack's head ached. Both hands were now grabbing at his hair. He was not some important mythical spirit. He did not have that power.

Jack groaned and balanced himself against his nightstand.

His sudden weight against the stand rattled it, and a picture frame tipped over. Jack stared the faces of his little brother and himself in the frame. It was his favorite picture of them after an all out snowball fight.

The hand still in his hair, gripped the brown locks even tighter, and he breathed deeply.

His name was Jack Bennett. He was an ordinary high school student. He lived with his father, mother, and younger brother. And nothing was going to take him away from that.

"I'm sorry, but I can't help you," Jack rasped.

"Jack," Tooth began to protest, but Jack sliced a hand through the air, silencing her.

Jack felt momentarily guilty about the hurt look on her face, but he had made his decision.

"Maybe I was Jack Frost once, but it's obvious that isn't the case any more. I don't have powers. I don't have these memories. I can't help you."

Tooth held up the first memory box and said, "Then let me show you the memories. They helped you once before; they could help again."

Jack shook his head and stared her straight in the eyes. "I'm Jack Bennett and nothing more," he said firmly.

"Oh, Jack. You are so much more," Tooth murmured.

Jack was struck by the love he saw in her eyes. It was the kind of thing he always remembered seeing in his mother's eyes that said that no matter what he did, he would always have his mother's love. He had to look away.

"Please go away," he begged.

A hand stroked his arm. He heard twittering, which he assumed came from Baby Tooth, but another person shushed it.

"I will leave, Jack," the Tooth Fairy conceded. "I won't force you, but do know that despite what you think, you are Jack Frost, you are important, and there are people who need you."

"Are you saying I'm selfish in staying here?" Jack asked defensively.

Tooth shook her head. "No. It is very kind of you and important to think of and love your family." She nodded to where the picture frame sat on his nightstand. "But as your fellow Guardian, I at least have the responsibility of reminding you that you took an oath."

"What oath?"

Tooth was moving away now towards the window. Jack did not follow.

"The oath of a Guardian. As much as I would like to tell you more, it is your oath, and that is for you to remember." She held up the two containers for him to see before sliding them back into her satchel. "But if you need help remembering anything else though, I would be more than happy to oblige."

The Tooth Fairy unlatched the window and stood on his windowsill, her wings raised and ready. Jack yearned to jump out the window and fly with her, but it was a foolish thought.

"You still believing is an unusual thing," Tooth stated with a frown. "I doubt you have just attracted the attention of just the Guardians. There are others out there who might take advantage of this situation."

"Are you saying I should stop believing?"

"Do you think you can?"

Jack was silent, which was answer enough.

"Be careful, Jack," Tooth warned. "Someone took away your powers, and if you are attracting supernatural attention, this enemy might show his face again."

"Do you have someone in mind?" Jack asked.

Tooth shrugged. "I have several people in mind. You have the protection and alliance of the Guardians, but that may not be enough."

Jack felt a shiver go up his spine.

"One last piece of advice," Tooth said. She looked back at him, and Jack could clearly see her amethyst eyes. "Remember Jamie."

And with that last name to remember, Tooth flew off into the night.

* * *

**Thanks once again to all my readers and especially my reviewers! You rock! :D**

**Answers to anonymous reviews:**

**Devil angel: **Thanks again for your review! And well, you see Jack doesn't take it well now does he... poor Jack...

**Guest: **Aww... Thanks :)

**KMB: **Here's your more and thanks for the review!

**~playing-in-the-mud**


	5. Chapter 5: Coming Storm

**Chapter 5 – Coming Storm**

* * *

**Note: To clarify, James is not Jamie. In hindsight, I should have probably picked a different name to avoid the confusion, but I had wanted to draw some parallels and I figured that it was sort of a family name for the Bennetts. But as a reminder, this story is a good (almost) century later from the movie.**

* * *

**_Previously_**

_"Be careful, Jack," Tooth warned. "Someone took away your powers, and if you are attracting supernatural attention, this enemy might show his face again."_

_"Do you have someone in mind?" Jack asked._

_Tooth shrugged. "I have several people in mind. You have the protection and alliance of the Guardians, but that may not be enough."_

_Jack felt a shiver go up his spine._

_"One last piece of advice," Tooth said. She looked back at him, and Jack could clearly see her amethyst eyes. "Remember Jamie."_

_And with that last name to remember, Tooth flew off into the night._

* * *

"He believes in us, but wants nothing to do with us."

Bunny slammed his fist on the table, his ear quivering with barely contained frustration. They were meeting at North's workshop this time, which was not helping Bunny's mood in the slightest.

"Little, bloody bugger!" Bunny jumped from his seat. "My turn, mates. I'm going to drag Frost back by his toes if that's what it takes."

"Bah, sit down, Bunny," North said, grabbing his friend and forcing him back into the chair. "Always so dramatic."

Someone touched Tooth's arm; Sandy gave his friend a brave smile, encouraging her to continue telling them what had happened with her encounter with the former frost child.

Tooth took a deep breath, and stated, "There's no question that the boy is our Jack. I did not see anything that hinted at why he is currently the way he is, although I don't think our Jack is completely erased. He seemed… Jack knew who I was. He of course recognized me as the Tooth Fairy, but there was something more to it all. It all felt very familiar, and I think Jack also realized that. Though he denies it now, I think he does sense the truth in my words."

"Did ya show him his memories?" Bunny asked.

The fairy shook her head.

"Why not?" Bunny grounded, unable to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

"Because, E. Aster Bunnymund," Tooth began, glaring at the rabbit, "Memories are a gift. I will not force them on anyone or else they cease to be just that. Jack refused when I offered."

The rabbit warrior shrank back into his seat, his anger and frustration momentarily abated.

North looked around at his family, noting the discouragement and worn nerves. Jack's disappearance had not only had a negative effect on the world's climate, but also on the family unit of the Guardians. Disheartened, the toymaker sighed.

For Jack's sake, the Guardians could not fall apart, especially now.

"Jack at least believes," North reminded his friends. "All is not lost."

Sandy nodded his agreement. Sand flashed in the air, spelling out a question that weighed on all their minds: _What now?_

The Guardians fell silent, mulling over the details Tooth had brought them.

"I hate to say this, but should we do anything?" Tooth asked. She looked up to meet the eyes of each of the Guardians. "I want him back as much as anyone, but he's so happy where he is. Jack never had a normal human life. Is it right for us to take that away from him?"

There was another few seconds of quiet contemplation as they all considered the idea with a new sense of guilt.

"If this was just about Jack, then perhaps we could leave him," North answered. "But this is more about boy, no?"

Sandy nodded. More golden sand flew and created fierce miniature storms, and then shifted into little children who were reaching out to someone.

"They're right," Bunny said, crossing his arms. "World's been pretty much in chaos since Frost's disappeared. No other nature spirit I know can control the wind and storms like he can. The little ankle-biters need him. And there's something else… When the kids lose their belief in us, what happens to us?"

"We fade," Tooth supplied. Her eyes widened, her mind putting it together.

Bunny nodded. "The ankle-biters' belief in Jack has been wanin' over these past years. I don't know if the rules still apply to him as he is now, but I'm not willing to take that risk. I'm not losin' him for good."

Tooth gasped, the possibility too horrible to consider. Sandy's hands balled into tight fists, and North stroked his beard as he frowned at nothing.

The Guardian of Hope noted all his comrades' faces and announced, "So it's agreed then. We get back Frost at all costs?" He looked at Tooth and added, "I know, sheila, it may be cruel to take him away from his family, but at the very least, we need to show him all the sides of this. I hardly think he'll want to fade because of something he doesn't fully understand."

Another round of nods came from the gathering of Guardians.

"So first things first," North said. "Getting Jack Frost to believe he is Jack Frost."

"Sounds simple enough," Bunny snorted unconvincingly.

His sarcasm was met with silence, and Bunny's ears lowered as he noted the exhaustion on Tooth's face and discouragement on the other two male Guardians'.

"Since none of ya are jumpin' at the chance, I'll go talk to little annoyance for ya," Bunny volunteered.

"Oh Bunny, would you?" Tooth said, relief and worry both evident in her voice.

"Of course," Bunny answered. "Ya and Sandy are busy enough with your 'round the clock jobs, and Christmas is coming up. I'm the best choice."

"Be gentle," Tooth pleaded. "Something about Jack seemed… vulnerable when I talked to him.

Bunny nodded, and North laid a warm hand on his friend's shoulder.

"If you don't mind, old friend. Keep an eye on child." North's eyes were shadowed as he spoke his next words. "Strange magic is here; I can feel it in my belly. Jack will need a Guardian."

Bunny smirked, although it seemed a little sad.

"I'll keep two eyes on him, mate. The Man in the Moon knows I'll need to use both to keep the dingo out of trouble."

The rabbit tapped his foot on the ground, and a hole opened up.

"Keep the little ankle-biters safe," Bunny said, flicking an ear to where North's globe spun slowly. "And I'll make sure our kid comes back to us."

And with that promise, the Guardian of Hope disappeared down his hole.

* * *

A hand shook his shoulder gently but firmly, rousing the teenager from dreamland.

"Sweetie, wake up."

Jack grumbled something unintelligible and shoved a pillow over his head.

The woman's voice said something he could not hear and then went quiet. Jack silently counted to twenty before he started to relax and doze again.

Something shifted at the end of his bed. A small warning bell went off in Jack's head, but it was muffled by his sleep-clouded mind.

Suddenly, all of his blankets were whipped from his bed, leaving his body to face the frigid morning air with no defenses.

The teenager curled his body into himself and clung to his pillow. He knew what came next.

Hands grabbed at the pillow and tried to wrench it away. Determined, Jack hung on; he was resolved to win this time.

The hands wrestled with Jack's own and tried to pry Jack's fingers away. No luck.

The hands released his hands and came at his exposed stomach, finding their way to all his sensitive spots.

Jack gasped out a laugh, his body jerking away from the tickling hands. He couldn't breathe!

His fingers loosened their hold on the pillow, and it was easily ripped away from him this time.

"Up! Up!" his mother commanded and proceeded to whack her son with the pillow she had won.

"I'm up!" Jack shrieked. A deep manly shriek of course.

He rolled away from the pillow. Too late, Jack realized he had rolled too far, and he promptly fell to the floor.

Mrs. Bennett laughed and threw the pillow at the heap now lying at the bottom of the bed.

"School district decided it safe enough for you lazy kids to get an education," she informed him. "Get ready. I'm taking you to school."

Jack groaned.

"Don't fall asleep again," she ordered as she left the room. "And wash your hair; you have some sort of lint in it."

The teen groaned again as a confirmation.

A few minutes later, Jack found himself standing in front of the bathroom mirror, frowning at the "lint" peppering his hair.

He swiped a hand at it, trying to see if that would get it out. It didn't.

Leaning closer to mirror, Jack fingered one of the white things and pulled.

It was a hair.

"What?" Jack asked, twisting the strand between two fingers.

He could not be going prematurely gray. For one thing, it did not run in the family, and for another, he would have noticed a long time ago that white strands flecked his dark brown hair.

Jack glanced up at the mirror again, and sure enough, the white strands were undeniably there in his hair.

Another image overlapped his reflection, and Jack suddenly had pure white hair, blue eyes, and pale skin.

"No!" Jack shouted, gripping the counter and squeezing his eyes shut. "I am Jack Bennett!"

He opened his eyes, and his reflection was back to normal except for the white dashes in his hair.

Jack was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when a pain flared up Jack's left arm. Jack looked down to where his hand clenched at the countertop and yelped. Jumping back as if stung, Jack began shaking his hands to restart the blood circulation that seemed to have stopped for a moment.

Once Jack confirmed that his hand was in no immediate danger, he dared to look back up at the counter. Frost patterns covered the surface of the counter and sink. They were beautiful, but Jack could only stare at them in horror.

His hand still hurt, so he brought it up to inspect it. A thin layer of ice covered his left hand. Cold pinched at his skin painfully, and Jack rubbed his other hand over the ice, breaking up the thin sheet of ice.

His teeth began to chatter. Turning on the hot water on the facet, Jack plunged his frozen hand under the water, and the ice dissipated.

He wrapped his hand in a towel and sat on the bathroom floor, cradling his hand.

"I'm not Jack Frost!" he shouted.

"What was that, sweetie?" his mother's voice came from outside the bathroom.

"Nothing!" Jack yelped. He cleared his throat and added more calmly, "Just not entirely awake yet."

He waited and listened, but his mother must have moved on because there was no response.

Jack looked back down at his injured hand. What was he going to do about his white hairs?

Nearly a half an hour later, Jack and James piled into their mother's car like any other day, except Jack was completely on edge.

The teenager wore his normal dark jeans and was bundled in a winter sweater. The unusual thing for him today was the additional beanie and gloves. Jack never got incredibly cold; it was one of his quirks, but today he made sure they were both firmly on.

"Are you all right, Jack?" Mrs. Bennett asked.

Jack tensed and did not look at his mother when he answered, "I'm fine. Why'd you ask?"

"You seem a little pale." She brought a hand to brush it against her son's cheek. "You're cold! I guess that's why you have the beanie and gloves today?"

Not trusting his voice, Jack nodded. He could feel his mother's suspicious gaze.

"You're not feeling sick?"

Jack shook his head. Being sick would mean getting out the thermometer. As much as he really did not want to go to school, Jack really did not want to know what the thermometer had to say about all of this.

He knew his mom wanted to press the matter, but she must have chalked it up as teenage angst because she did not say anything else as she started the car.

"It's strange that it cleared so suddenly," Mrs. Bennett commented off-handedly. "We were supposed to get a lot more, not that I'm complaining or anything."

Jack's mind flashed to his talk yesterday.

_The wind recognizes the voice of its closest companion, _the Tooth Fairy had told him.

Jack balled up his gloved hand. No! He did not have that sort of power. He didn't have _any _power.

"I'm Jack Bennett," he whispered to himself.

"What was that?" Mrs. Bennett asked.

"Nothing!" Jack said a little too quickly.

His left hand ached again, but his ignored it.

"It's all nothing."

As if to contradict him, a shiver of cold raced up Jack's spine. The teenager squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth together to quiet the chattering of his teeth

It definitely was not "nothing."

The days passed slowly, and Jack could not go one day without thinking of Tooth or having these… ice symptoms acting up.

They were small things—a frozen glass of water there, a shiver of cold there—but they were enough to drive Jack crazy.

His parents and friends were starting to notice something was up. He looked terrible from lack of sleep and frayed nerves. He barely laughed or smiled, afraid that extreme emotions would make the symptoms worse.

That was all about he could figure from his symptoms. They went out of control whenever he was upset or angry or anything other than apathetic. The other day he had apparently laughed too hard and froze his whole lunch. He went that day hungry and afraid that someone had caught him.

Even his ten-year-old brother knew something was wrong and had asked him if he was all right this morning.

Jack had brushed it off with a strained smile and lame excuse. He did not dare touch his brother in fear of hurting him. He had not frozen another human yet, but Jack was sure it was only a matter of time.

For the time being, Jack wore gloves and beanie over his increasingly white hair.

Jack sighed as he tried to figure out a way to stop whatever this was. He was playing hooky today. Sad to say, but he did not have the guts to face another school day of his friends' worry and prodding.

Later, he would not remember where he went. Jack simply let his legs take him wherever they wished. He wandered down streets, went in and out of shops, and finally wandered away from the paved roads onto dirt paths. The buildings fell away and were replaced by trees.

The Burgess Forest was a place all the local children had grown up in instead of playgrounds or arcades. The city of Burgess always made plans to develop the area, but right when the plans were to be finalized, they were mysteriously cancelled. No one ever questioned it, nor did anyone really want for any of the plans to go through.

For some unknown reason, it became an unspoken agreement among the people of Burgess to leave the little woods a wild and untouched land.

Jack found himself there now, wandering aimlessly in and out of trees.

His feet finally stopped, and he looked up at the little frozen lake.

A ghost of a laugh seemed to reverberate through the trees. Jack imagined a brown-haired boy of eight years playing in the ice and snow. In his imagination, the boy turned towards Jack, and Jack was struck by his resemblance to James.

_Remember Jamie…_

Jack shook his head as a headache teased at the corners of his mind, and the laughter and image evaporated like smoke.

A breeze tickled Jack's face, tugging him towards the lake, but Jack turned away and headed back towards the city.

Jack found himself on the streets of Burgess again and restarted his meaningless meandering.

"So this is what your human version looks like."

Jack whipped around towards the voice, a scowl already forming on his brow.

Really he should not have been so surprised, not after a visit from the Tooth Fairy herself, but very few things in his life thus far had prepared him to come face-to-face with an anthropomorphic rabbit. The rabbit was a lot closer than Jack had expected, and he almost planted his face into a chest of fur.

Jack yelped and jumped away from the towering figure. Once a couple of steps back, the teenager got a good look at what he assumed to be the Easter Bunny for the first time.

He was an imposing figure, which did not at all match those cute, little bunnies on Easter decorations. Really, the rabbit in front of him screamed warrior rather than cottontail.

The rabbit seemed to realize his current demeanor was a bit intimidating, and he hunched down closer to the ground, so that they were now eye level.

"E. Aster Bunnymund," the rabbit introduced himself. "You can call me Bunny."

The rabbit had a strong accent. Who would have thought that the Easter Bunny was Australian?

"Jack," the boy returned hesitantly.

"Yeah," the rabbit snorted. "I know."

Jack's scowl deepened at the implication of that short phrase.

"Are you all going to do this?" Jack asked. "Is Santa Claus hiding around the corner? This isn't a normal thing for you guys, right? You don't go around stalking random kids, do you?"

"Oh trust me, kid," Bunny laughed. "Ya're far from random."

"So why are you here? I already explained myself to the Tooth Fairy."

"I need ya to come with me," the rabbit said.

Jack almost burst out in hysterical laughter. Easter Bunny he might be, but Jack did not follow random people to unknown places, magical or otherwise.

"I don't think so," Jack said. "Why should I go with you? Isn't that kidnapping?"

"I'm not—I'm—Look, there's some things we need to discuss—things ya need to see," Bunny stammered.

"And you can't discuss this here because…?"

"Ya need to meet the others. There's important things goin' on that ya don't understand," Bunny explained.

"Sorry, but my parents told me not to go places with strangers."

Jack turned away, intent on leaving the conversation at that, but the rabbit's soft voice stopped him.

"Come home, Jack," the rabbit murmured, sounding momentarily vulnerable.

"I am home," Jack grounded out. "You all should just leave me alone. I may still believe in you all, but that gives you no right to invade my life."

"Don't ya find that a bit strange?" the rabbit shot back.

"That my childhood beliefs are stalking me? Yes, I find that a bit strange," Jack responded. He noticed that he was getting suspicious glances from the people sharing the street with him. Of course, the rabbit was probably invisible to them—just Jack's luck.

Jack grit his teeth and started walking again, determined to ignore the giant rabbit. Maybe it would be better to stop believing in these childish fantasies, but it was really hard to disbelieve something when it was currently grabbing at his arm.

"I wasn't talkin' about that," the rabbit said. "I'm talkin' about the fact that you can see me and still believe in all of us. Most ankle-biters lose their belief before their teenage years. The few exceptions… well, there's always somethin' special about them."

Jack reached an alley and ducked into it, away from prying eyes.

"If I knew a kangaroo stalker was going to be the price I'd pay for still believing, then I would have stopped believing a long time ago," Jack said.

"I'm the Easter Bunny," the rabbit corrected, looking more amused than annoyed.

Jack huffed; he had meant for the "kangaroo" comment to be an insult.

"Whatever," Jack replied. "Look. I think it's cool what you all do, but I'm sure that 'stalking Jack' is not in your job description. Let me believe as I want to, and leave me alone."

"If it was only ya believin', then it wouldn't be an issue, but it's more than that," Bunny almost sighed out.

Jack gave the rabbit a dark look. "This isn't about the whole Jack Frost thing? I told Tooth: I'm not him. Do you see me throwing around ice?"

His hands ached at that last thing, but he tried to push what had been going on for the past couple days aside.

"And that's what we're tryin' to fix, mate," Bunny said. "Let us help you."

"I don't need fixing, and I don't need help," Jack nearly yelled.

"Frost, this isn't just about ya!" Bunny returned. "Don't tell me ya haven't heard of the freak storms happenin' around the world."

"Don't tell me that's my fault," Jack snorted.

"It's not, but you can help. We need ya're help just as much as ya need ours," the rabbit said.

Jack hesitated. Something inside yearned to help—to be more than what he was. He mentally shook it off, getting through high school was enough for one teenager. Besides, he was very extra sure he was not this Frost character.

"I've lived my whole life in Burgess. I have a birth certificate and school records. My mom's documented every one of my birthdays with excessive amounts of pictures. My name is Jack Bennett, and there's no changing that," Jack said. "I'd like to help, but you got the wrong guy. This storm thing is way over my head."

Jack thought that should have finished it, but a furry hand caught him before he could move away.

"Magic has a strange way of workin', mate," Bunny said seriously.

"Maybe it does," he replied. "But not with me."

"Oh really," Bunny counteracted. His other hand moved faster than Jack could match and whipped off his beanie.

"Hey, give that back!" Jack shouted.

"Still think magic has nothing to do with you?" Bunny asked, extending to his full height to keep the beanie away from the teenager. The rabbit eyed the locks of white hair that streaked through Jack's normal rich brown.

"So I'm going prematurely gray. There's nothing wrong with that. I'll dye it back to brown later," Jack said, trying and failing to retrieve the hat.

"First, ya were a near full brunette only a couple days ago; ya don't get that much white in that much time naturally. Second, ya hate dyeing your hair; ya threw such a fuss when I colored it pink that one time," Bunny listed.

Jack made a frustrated noise and retorted, "First, what a stalker. Second, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Jack charged the Easter Bunny once more, but the rabbit dodged him easily. The teenager could not change his momentum in time, and threw out his hands to stop himself against the wall.

Pain flared up Jack's right hand, but it was not from the impact. Frost crept up the side of building and froze his glove solid. Jack jerked back from the building in shock.

Bunny noted the frost with a sense of satisfaction. "Still want to deny tha—what's wrong, Frost?"

Jack had doubled over, clutching his right hand to his chest. The ice stung; its cold burned his skin, and his fingered tingled with a foreign sort of power. Jack ignored the rabbit and ripped off the glove as he tried desperately to warm his hand before permanent damage was done.

"Here, Frostbite. Let me see. Your human body's just not used to the power," a voice said above him.

A furry hand tried to extract the injured hand from Jack, but the teen pulled away.

"Leave me alone," Jack spat out between short gasps. "It gets worse when I'm around you."

Bunny stood back, pain written on his face. Jack did not understand that look.

"How long has it been hurtin' ya?" Bunny inquired.

"Ever since Tooth came," Jack responded. "That's why you need to leave me alone. It'll go away soon."

Jack was not sure about that last statement, but he desperately hoped it would be true. All he needed was for the magical beings to leave him alone, and then everything would go back to normal.

The rabbit shook his head. "I don't think that's how it works, Frost. It's your human side that out of whack, not those ice powers."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Jack muttered.

"Do you?" Bunny countered.

Jack did not know how to answer that, so he only pursed his lips and glared at the rabbit.

"Let me take ya to North, mate," Bunny said gently. "I sense foreign magic around you. North could maybe break whatever this is."

Jack trembled as he stood still holding his hand protectively. His feet froze to the ground, unsure about which way to run.

Bunny took the lack of response as consent for him to approach the teen. The rabbit laid a warm hand on the child's shoulder, and a shudder went through the teen's body.

Jack felt himself relax under the touch, and Bunny grasped the teen's shoulder more firmly. The hold was probably supposed to be friendly, but as soon as Bunny applied more pressure to his shoulder, pain shot through Jack's body and white light exploded in the alleyway.

Bunny was thrown back as a layer of ice covered his fur.

"Jack!" Bunny called out.

Directly in front of the rabbit were spikes of ice like huge stalagmites. Behind that, Jack was huddled against the wall, eyes staring in horror at the ice.

Jack opened his mouth to deny that the ice came from his, but only a low moan escaped his lips. His body shuddered with adrenaline and pain. The burning sensation had crept up his arm and now invaded his chest, making it hard to breathe.

Bunny got to his feet, and scrambled over to Jack.

"Jack, mate. Are ya hurt?" Bunny brushed his hand against Jack's arm, and the teen flinched away.

"Don't touch me," Jack rasped. He coughed up breaths of mist; it felt like his lungs were freezing over.

Jack got unsteadily to his feet. "Don't talk to me again."

Using the remainder of his adrenaline, Jack sprinted out of the alley towards home.

The exercise eventually warmed up his body, but Jack could not stop shivering.

Reaching home, Jack skirted around him mom and headed straight for the bathroom. Behind closed doors, Jack took a deep breath and looked up at the mirror.

His hair was now completely white.

* * *

**Answers to anonymous reviews:**

**Bonca: **Does Jack meet Pitch again? Maybe… maybe not… Those are the sorts of questions that readers will have to wait to see the answer. Thanks for your review!

**Devil angel: **Yes, poor Jack. It's getting worse before it gets better… I hope you enjoyed this update! Thanks!

**~playing-in-the-mud**


	6. Chapter 6: Different Kinds of Help

**Chapter 6 – Different Kinds of Help**

* * *

**Note: It was brought to my attention that the part where the Guardians are talking about "fading" might have been a little confusing. To clarify, it is a reference to the part in the movie where Pitch is taunting the Guardians, saying that as the children lose their belief in the Guardians, the Guardians themselves fade. So the Guardians are currently worried that with Jack not doing his job as Frost, children are losing their belief in him, and he will eventually fade (die).**

* * *

_**Previously**_

_Bunny was thrown back as a layer of ice covered his fur._

"_Jack!" Bunny called out._

_Directly in front of the rabbit were spikes of ice like huge stalagmites. Behind that, Jack was huddled against the wall, eyes staring in horror at the ice._

_Jack got unsteadily to his feet. "Don't talk to me again."_

_Using the remainder of his adrenaline, Jack sprinted out of the alley towards home. _

_Reaching home, Jack skirted around him mom and headed straight for the bathroom. Behind closed doors, Jack took a deep breath and looked up at the mirror._

_His hair was now completely white._

* * *

A bottle plopped unceremoniously into Jack's lap.

"One bottle of brown hair dye," Christina announced.

Jack picked it up cautiously as if he were afraid it might explode on him.

"Sun-kissed brown?" Jack asked, reading the label.

"Adds gloss and shine to your hair, bringing back your youth of yesteryears," Kyle piped up in a dramatic voice.

The other boy leaned over and whipped off Jack's beanie.

"Hey!" Jack protested, easily snatching it back.

"Come on, man," Kyle shined. "I just want a good look at it."

"I'm not some science experiment," Jack grumbled, shoving the beanie back over his white hair only for another hand to whip it off.

"Guys," Jack groaned. "I'm getting really tired of this. Just give it back."

"Oh, relax," Karla said. "You need to beanie off anyways to dye your hair."

Jack grumbled under his breath, well aware that three pairs of eyes were currently fixed on his snow-white hair.

He glanced back down at the bottle in his hands. "Do think this will work? I mean, is this the right color?"

Christina shrugged and walked over to where a picture of the four of them sat framed on her nightstand.

"It's pretty close, I think," Christina said. "It's my mom's dye, and her color's pretty close to yours."

She brought out another picture of her family and laid it next to the framed picture. The four of them crowded around the two pictures, comparing the two brunettes in the pictures.

"It might be believable," Christina said. "The only thing is that my mom uses the stuff to dye a few gray strands and darken her natural color, not cover a full head of white hair. I don't know if that means that it will turn out differently."

Jack bit his lip nervously. "Well, it has to be better than white, right? Let's just do it."

Jack popped the lid off the bottle and nearly gagged as the poignant smell immediately filled his nostrils.

"Ah crap," Kyle said helpfully. "Smells like acid. You sure you gave Jack the right stuff, Chris? We're trying to dye his hair, not burn it all off."

Christina took the bottle from Jack and gave Kyle a hard look.

"The smell's normal," Christina explained. "Here, you should probably let me do it for you."

Jack nodded, trying not to choke on the smell.

Few minutes later, they were all crammed into Christina's small bathroom that luckily was connected to her bedroom and therefore gave them the necessary privacy.

Jack squirmed in Christina's desk chair, resisting the urge to yank away the towel tied securely around his neck.

"So your hair's turning white because you were some winter spirit in your past life?" Kyle asked.

Jack scowled at Kyle in the mirror, although his eyes kept straying to where Christina was mixing the dye.

"I wasn't some winter spirit," Jack corrected.

"But you said that some anthropomorphic bunny said that you were," Kyle replied.

"He's mixed up or lying," Jack said.

Jack had spilled the whole story to his friends as soon as they had all gathered at Christina's house. So far, all Jack got was a lot of grief from Kyle about his white hair and dubious, shifty-eyed glances from them all.

"You don't believe me," he accused them.

In the mirror, he watched Kyle and Karla both cast their gazes down; Christina was focused on mixing still and gave no sign she even heard him.

"Jack," Karla began slowly. "You're telling us you talked to the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny and that you can only see them—"

"Other people can see them too," Jack interjected. "If they believe in them."

Jack regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. Great, now he was only confirming his insanity.

"Right," Karla conceded, although she did not sound any more convinced. "And there's this magic involved. Sorry if I don't fully believe you, Jack, but this is all sounding very incredible."

Jack switched his gaze over to Kyle in the mirror, and the other boy shrugged.

"Sorry, dude, but for once, I have to agree with Karla," Kyle said. "Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny? That's just not possible."

Jack looked away and clenched his hands under the towel. He could not really blame them; sometimes, even he wondered if this all was not some horrific dream.

"Well, I believe you."

Jack jerked his head up and stared in surprise at Christina who was now facing towards him, bowl of dye in hand.

"Y—you do?" Jack asked.

"My mom's a hairstylist," Christina said simply, pointing at Jack's white locks. "You definitely did not have white hair the other day so it can't be premature grays, and that's not bleached. It's too healthy to be bleached."

There was a moment of silence where Jack just stared at Christina in awe. His heart warmed with the knowledge that she believed so readily.

"You sure about that?" Jack said with forced laugh. He met her eyes, testing her faith in him.

"I know that you're not lying," Christina answered. "You're eyes would be laughing if you were lying."

Jack had no idea what that meant, but Karla seemed to because she was nodding her head slowly.

"Okay, let's put aside the wackiness of it all and just say yes, you Jack Bennett are telling the truth and it all really happened," Karla announced, a weird look on her face. "What do we do about it?"

"I don't know," Jack muttered. "Keep my hair dyed for now, and find a way to control the stupid ice powers."

"What kind of ice powers?" Kyle asked, a little more eager now that they were leaving behind the topic of mythological creatures.

"Mostly freezing stuff," Jack said. "Nothing really special."

"Nothing special, he says," Kyle snorted.

"Tilt your head back," Christina said. "Tell me if something doesn't feel right."

"Doesn't feel right?"

"If your scalp starts burning," she clarified.

Jack made a face and did as he was told.

"Tell you what," Kyle said. "You show me these ice powers of yours and might consider believing you for reals-ies."

"I already told you. I can't control them," Jack huffed.

Christina was running a comb through his hair, and he tried to focus on that instead of the cold creeping up his spine.

"Aw, not even a icicle?" Kyle goaded. "Just a little snow?"

"Kyle, shut it!" Jack shouted.

Christina dropped the comb, and Karla gave a sharp yelp.

Jack did not know what was wrong at first because his vision went momentarily dark, and he felt like he was spinning on one of those carnival rides. His sides ached, and he gave a small groan.

"Jack! Jack!"

The teenager blinked, and his vision cleared to show him the world on its side. He realized that he was still in the chair, but that he was slumped far to the left and that Kyle was supporting him so he did not topple over.

Christina had a hand on his shoulder and was calling his name.

He was about to ask what was wrong when he noticed his breath forming little ice clouds in front of him. Feeling returned to his body, and Jack realized that the room's temperature was noticeably colder. He looked around and did not see any frost, but all of his friends were visibly shivering.

"What?" Jack rasped.

He struggled to sit right side up. Kyle squeezed his friend's shoulder.

"Sorry," Jack said. "That was me, wasn't it?"

No one answered him, but no one needed to.

Finally, Kyle was the one to break the silence. "I believe you, dude."

The declaration should have made him feel better. It didn't.

"And only a moment ago you were all Mister Skeptical," Jack joked, making his voice light, but every one of the room's occupants heard the challenge underlying Jack's tone.

"What can I say? Seeing is believing," Kyle threw back.

"I'm going to turn up the heater," Christina said before disappearing from the room.

"Are you all right, Jack?" Karla asked.

Jack winced as he adjusted himself in his seat. "Fine. It just hurts when my powers act up."

Kyle nodded as if he knew what Jack was talking about and waggled a finger in front Jack's face. "Well then, no more showing off for now, Frosty," Kyle ordered in a faux army commander's voice.

"Don't call me that," Jack groaned. It was too close to what the rabbit had called him. "But thanks."

Kyle grinned impishly at him, but it did not quite reach his eyes.

Christina returned and continued her work on Jack's hair.

"So as we where saying, what do we do?" Karla spoke up.

"Should we tell someone?" Christina wondered.

"No!" Jack said too quickly.

"But if these powers are hurting you…" Karla began.

"They're hurting you?" Christina asked, accidently tugging Jack's hair a little too hard.

"I'm not telling anyone and becoming some science experiment," Jack insisted, ignoring Christina's question.

Christina frowned and tugged on Jack's hair not so on accident this time.

"Oh, people would love to get your hands on you," Kyle agreed.

"Quit joking around," Karla said, slapping Kyle.

"I'm not," Kyle said, slapping her back.

"You're parents then?" Christina suggested.

Jack shook his head until Christina told him to stay still.

"Tell my parents what?" Jack asked.

"About your powers," Karla said.

"And how I might not be their son?" Jack shot back. "That I'm supposed to be some winter spirit instead? That who I am might be a lie?"

"I thought you didn't believe the rabbit," Karla snapped back.

"I don't," Jack confirmed. "But I can't explain one thing without explaining the other. No, we're not telling my parents."

He glared at each of his friends in turn.

Kyle raised his hands in surrender. "No argument here, dude. Adults are weird."

"We're not going to get very fair if we don't talk to someone," Christina pointed out. "We don't have any idea about what's going on in the first place."

"Well, I can do some research through the almighty Internet," Kyle volunteered. "But just a prediction, I don't think that's going to get us any more than myths and stuff."

"Why don't you try and talk to the bunny," Karla suggested.

Jack shook his head rigorously, earning another reprimand from Christina.

"I don't want to talk to them again. Besides, my powers get worse when they're around, and I'm trying to keep them under control," Jack said.

"But they might be the only ones who know anything," Karla argued. "What if we talked to them for you?"

Jack considered it and then sighed.

"But they can only be seen if the person believes in them." He looked up at his friends. "Can you honestly say that you really believe they exist?"

One by one, each of them shook their heads, eliciting another sigh from Jack.

"We'll figure this out, Jack," Christina assured. "That's why we're here."

"On the subject of figuring things out, found anything, Kyle?" Karla asked.

Kyle looked up from where he was tapping away on his phone.

"What?" he asked.

"You are searching for 'Jack Frost' and not playing some stupid game, are you?" Karla growled out.

"Oh, jeez chill," Kyle defended. He paused and gave Jack a smirk. "No pun intended."

Jack just groaned.

"Yes, I'm looking up on Jack Frost," Kyle continued. "But, well, it's like I said earlier. It's all pretty jumbled with stuff about Norse legends, Father Frost, and Old Man Winter. And there's so much stuff with Jack Frost in movies and books. Some sources do say that some believe Jack Frost is a youthful boy who brings the winter chill and plays games." Kyle looked up at Jack and eyed him as if weighing that description with what he saw before him. "I mean that does sound like you minus the winter part, but everything else…"

Jack shook his head. He really should not have expected much. "Thanks anyways, Kyle," he murmured.

"We'll figure it out," Christina promised. "For now, let's just worry about getting your hair back to normal."

The next hour or so consisted of Christina washing, dyeing, and rewashing Jack's hair. All the while, Kyle made helpful comments of how Jack was such an old man, and Karla helpfully punched Kyle in the stomach a few times.

Jack nervously waited for Christina to finish. There was no going back now.

"Done," Christina announced.

Jack gripped the sides of the chair anxiously. "How does it look?" he asked.

"Not bad," Christina said, not so very convincingly.

"Not _bad?"_ Jack repeated.

Finally mustering up enough courage, Jack twisted around in his seat and tried not to wince.

It was a step up from being white, but still seemed off. Jack could not tell if it was the color or the way his hair shone in the bathroom light, but something did not seem all that natural about his hair.

"I'm thinking sun-kissed brown isn't quite Jack's color," Kyle offered. His words trailed into a coughing fit, but Jack saw a smile behind Kyle's hands.

"It'll do for now," Christina decided. She handed him his beanie. "It'll keep most suspicions away, but to be safe you should probably where this. I'll try to see if I can find a better dye for you than my mom's.

"Thanks," Jack sighed.

"So what now?" Karla asked.

Jack shrugged. "What else can I do?"

"Talk to your parents," Christina suggested again.

Jack was about to shoot down the suggestion for the second time, but he hesitated.

"Maybe I could," Jack murmured. "The Tooth Fairy said something weird before she left me. I think my dad might know something about it."

"What?" Christina prompted.

Jack looked up at his friends, beanie clenched between his two hands. "'Remember Jamie.'"

* * *

It was probably the best situation for something as messy as this one.

His mom had taken (dragged) James off to do some mandatory clothes shopping much to the younger boy's disgust and displeasure.

That left Jack home alone with his father for some normal everyday conversations.

Jack was currently hiding behind a corner, peeking out every now and then at his father who sat on the couch with a newspaper in hand.

For just one moment, Jack allowed himself to imagine himself as some immortal winter spirit—a free elemental with no home and no family. The idea left a bitter taste in his mouth. It was almost enough to make Jack go back up to his room and forget the whole thing, but he needed answers—answers his father might possess.

"Hey, Dad?" Jack finally said, coming out from behind the corner.

Mr. Bennett looked up from his newspaper and set it down. Jack must have had a really bad poker face because he had his father's full-undivided attention in a matter of seconds.

"What's up, Jack?" his father asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing," Jack said a little too quickly. He winced and then forced himself to take a deep breath. "It's nothing. I just needed to ask you about our family history for a project at school."

"Which class?"

Jack's mind froze; he had not thought that far when he made up this faux excuse.

"History," Jack blurted out. "We, uh, have an extra credit assignment to writing a paper on family's involvement with U.S. history."

Mr. Bennett nodded his head slowly, which Jack hope meant that he was buying the excuse.

"There's not much to tell—nothing too exciting," Mr. Bennett began. "The Bennett family is one of the oldest families in Burgess. The most we can boast in our family history is being one of the founding families for this town. We've had family members involved in just about every war the U.S. has ever fought, but we weren't much of the war hero types."

"What about recent family history?" Jack asked.

Mr. Bennett thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Nope. Like I said, it's all pretty boring. Your Grandpa Maurice was a businessman and Grandpa J was an author of children's books. You might want to ask your mom about this. Her side is much more interesting."

Jack fixated on one name and did not hear the last sentence. "Grandpa J as in Jamie, right?"

"Yeah," Mr. Bennett confirmed. "My grandfather on my dad's side, and your great-grandfather."

"What was he like?" Jack asked, forgetting his attempts to be discreet.

"Is this part of your assignment?" Mr. Bennett questioned.

Jack realized his mistake too late and stammered, "No, I was just curious since I didn't know him and you like to quote him all the time."

"That I do," Mr. Bennett chuckled. "He was—in my humble opinion—the best grandfather ever. He spoiled us kids rotten, and your great-grandmother liked to call him a child at heart. He was a great storyteller, which worked out well considering his job. His books were—still are—quite popular."

"What kind of stories did he tell?"

"All kinds," Mr. Bennett remembered. "Mostly fantasies. He had the wildest imagination, but his favorite stories were myths and legends."

Mr. Bennett paused as if getting lost in the past, but Jack was getting impatient.

"Like?" the teen prompted.

"You know. I've told some of them to you," Mr. Bennett answered. "Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, Jack Frost, those kind of characters. He liked to imagine stories of what they did when they were not doing their normal jobs."

There was a buzzing in Jack's ears at the last name his father mentioned, and he barely got the next words out.

"What did Grandpa J say about Jack Frost?"

His father was now giving him a weird look, but Jack hardly cared as he silently urged his father to answer.

"He said Jack Frost was a winter spirit who spread fun with his blizzards. Jack Frost was kind and exciting during a snowball fight and fierce and deadly during a fight against evil," Mr. Bennett said. "He called Jack Frost one of his greatest friends."

"The way he describes Frost… It makes him sound like he was a real person," Jack commented.

"To Grandpa J, Jack Frost was real," Mr. Bennett agreed. "He talked about all his characters as if they were real. Kids loved him for it, and it gave magic to his stories."

Jack took it all in, but he did not see anything particularly useful. So his great-grandfather liked to talk about Jack Frost, but how did that help him?

"He used to love playing with you. Do you remember that?"

Startled by the random question, Jack shook his head.

"He loved making you laugh," Mr. Bennett reminisced with a smile.

"When did he die?" Jack asked.

Mr. Bennett's smile slowly melted away.

"When you were eight, I think. You were there during the funeral. Cried your eyes out."

Jack searched his memory for anything of Grandpa J. A bright smile and laugh warmed Jack's body, chasing away the persistent cold he had been feeling for the past few days. It was a momentary relief though, for Jack suddenly remembered staring down at a large, wooden box. He remembered that hollow feeling in his heart and a splitting headache from that day.

"Do we have a copy of his books?" Jack asked.

"Of course! What kind of Bennett would I be if I didn't have Grandpa J's books?" Mr. Bennett got up from his seat and shuffled around the shelf in the living room.

"Here," Mr. Bennett said as he handed Jack a stack of books. There were about ten pictures books and six chapter books. "I read most of these to you when you were younger."

"He wrote all of these?" Jack asked.

"And more," Mr. Bennett chuckled. "I have more in my office. When you want those, let me know."

Jack thanked his father and proceeded to make his escape with his bundle of books.

"Jack?" Mr. Bennett's voice stopped his son in his tracks.

"Yeah, Dad?"

Mr. Bennett looked him square his eyes, making him squirm.

"Do you really have a history assignment about family history?"

Jack's spine felt like it was frozen over.

"Yeah," he lied.

Mr. Bennett held his gaze for a few more seconds, and Jack tried not to look like a little kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Okay," Mr. Bennett complied. "Whatever your reason for bringing this up, I'm glad I got to talk to you about Grandpa J. He was… really special. Be sure to ask your mom about your assignment."

Jack nodded his head and swallowed up a sigh of relief.

In the safety of his room, Jack spread the books out on his already messy floor. He picked up a book with an illustration of a white-haired teen.

The teen held a wooden staff in one hand and floated above a winter scene.

Jack quickly flipped through the picture book, and each page held a picture of the same teen.

Jack tried to swallow the lump forming in his throat, but he could not deny it; the teen in the picture book looked just like him.

* * *

Jack could not sleep.

It was the dreams again.

The dreams were not unfamiliar ones. He had had them ever since he was a little kid. They used to come every night during his childhood, then dwindled to once a week, and finally showed up every few months until Jack almost forgot about them. Now though, they were back, and they seemed to have come with a vengeance.

The dreams were not unpleasant dreams, certainly not nightmares, but they disturbed him nonetheless. The dreams contained flashes of scenes that felt like memories half-remembered. During his dreams, he felt light and free; he could remember laughing in those dreams and the feeling of warmth as if he was surrounded by the people he loved.

No, the dreams were definitely not nightmares—quite the opposite. What disturbed him though was that every time he had those dreams, he woke up with tears on his cheeks and no memory of crying.

It was a mystery he never solved, and one he never thought he needed to solve until they began again after his meeting with the Tooth Fairy.

Jack lay back down onto his bed, trying to get comfortable. Lucky for him it was the weekend, and he could afford to stay up, but still…

He looked over to where his clock flashed 2:13 a.m.

Sighing, Jack rolled over again and relaxed his body.

Jack's thoughts blurred into incoherent half ideas until they disappeared into darkness.

His bed seemed to swallow him, and when he opened his eyes again, he was flying high above the clouds.

Jack relished the feeling of the wind against his cheeks and tousling his hair. He leaned forward, and he accelerated. Huge fluffy clouds followed him like sheep after their shepherd.

He came to his destination and waved his hands. Following his cue, the clouds released their baggage, and flurries of snow fell onto the village below.

Cries of joy and excitement came up from every child, and Jack laughed right along with them.

Jack's laughs turned into gasps as waves of nostalgia hit him again and again. Relentless and strong, the waves took away Jack's breath away, and he felt himself fall.

He could stop the falling, he knew that. All he had to do was call his friend, but what was his friend's name?

He could still hear the children laughing below, but it only served to make the nostalgia more poignant.

He missed it. He missed them.

His friend… His friends… Where were they?

Jack hit the ground and bolted up right.

He saw darkness and knew that he was still in his room.

Groaning, Jack lay back down, realizing he had drifted off again.

He checked the clock and it read 3:46 a.m. this time.

Fingers crept up to his face, and sure enough, they were covered in tears. Jack wiped furiously at them, ashamed.

He could still hear the laughter in his ears, and Jack knew he was not going to sleep any more tonight.

Five minutes later, Jack was trudging through the snow, trying to get away. From what, he did not know. His feet brought him to an abandoned playground.

The playground reminded him of the children in his dream, but he was too weary to go further so he sank down into one of the swings.

"Having trouble sleeping?"

Jack started and flew out of his seat.

"Oh," the unknown voice chuckled. "Did I scare you? My apologies."

A dark man emerged from the darkness, smiling down at the teen.

Jack could only stare at the man with huge, round eyes. The air around them vibrated with some sort of energy, and Jack instinctively _pushed. _

The man hesitated and then resumed his approach, smiling.

"My this is interesting," the man murmured. "You still have something, don't you? Well, it won't do you much good as I came here to finish what I started."

The man shifted, and Jack saw a weapon in the man's hand.

The sight of the blade gave his legs life again, and he scrambled back.

"I—I don't know what—"

"No, I suppose you don't," the man interrupted. He tilted his head as he observed Jack. "Magic has a funny way of working. It did not give me the result I had initially wanted, but it won't matter. I may have had to wait an extra 17 years for my revenge, but I'm a patient person, and the end result is still acceptable."

Jack only grew more confused, but he was certain now that this man was one of those mythical characters.

"Go away," Jack managed. "I already told you guys I won't nothing to do with you."

"Oh Jack, you're afraid, aren't you?" the man laughed. "Perhaps this is better. You like this and so pathetic. Powerless."

The man fixed Jack with his gold eyes, and Jack found he could not breathe.

The teenager collapsed to his knees as his legs gave out beneath him; a pressure pressed on him from all sides. The only movement he could manage was the uncontrollable shaking.

The man's laughter grew as he raised his weapon—a scythe.

Those gold eyes gleamed with malicious glee. "I got you, Jack," the man gloated. "I win."

Jack stared straight up into his soon-to-be killer's face.

"Pitch," Jack whispered.

* * *

**So this is a warning to all my readers (who btw are awesome and thanks for reading and reviewing), but anyways, in about a week, I will be off to an abroad program where Internet is limited and I am unsure of the schedule. I want to keep my updates to the usual once a week thing, but I can't promise that since there are many variables. As such, this is my explanation to you all if I somehow fail to update on my regular schedule. **

**Answers to anonymous reviews: **

**WEast: **I noticed how much Jack's story parallels Elsa's too, which is weird since I wrote this, but I didn't notice it until I was editing the chapter. As for what are they going to do… we'll just have to wait and see. Thanks for the review!

**Devil angel: **Thanks so much (again)! You're reviews always make me smile. Stay awesome!

**Guest: **Well thank you very much random person! Here's the update!

**~playing-in-the-mud**


	7. Chapter 7: Disturbing Revelations

**Chapter 7 – Disturbing Revelations**

* * *

_**Previously**_

_The teenager collapsed to his knees as his legs gave out beneath him; a pressure pressed on him from all sides. The only movement he could manage was the uncontrollable shaking. _

_The man's laughter grew as he raised his weapon—a scythe. _

_Those gold eyes gleamed with malicious glee. "I got you, Jack," the man gloated. "I win."_

* * *

"Pitch," Jack whispered.

The man hesitated, a glint of interest in his eyes.

"What did you say?" the man asked, his weapon still poised to strike.

Jack did not answer. It was hard to focus with headache forming behind his eyes. Jack was not even sure he remembered what he had just said. The teenager swayed as the pressure became too much for his body.

The man snorted. "Weak. That's what you have become, Jack Frost. I almost wish you were your true self to see what you've become."

Without another word, the man positioned the weapon again. Jack knew it was pointed towards his heart, but he did not have the presence of mind to do anything about it.

The scythe came down.

His vision went black as soon as the blade touched his flesh. Agony ripped through his body, robbing him of all his senses expect for that _pain. _

Jack's lips parted, but no sound came out.

He knew nothing for a moment, and when he became aware again, he found himself crumpled on his side. Jack still could not see, but he could feel. Oh, he could feel.

His body was on fire. Why did the strike not kill him?

Jack finally screamed as the pain ate at his flesh. The strike should have killed him. Why wasn't he dead yet? Why was there still pain?

Alone in his dark world, Jack could only listen.

The man was yelling, and another voice answered it. They were arguing it seemed like.

Jack tried to call for help, but all he could manage was a strangled croak.

The voices kept arguing, and Jack wanted to shout at them to stop and finish the job. Just kill him already!

The sound of metal hitting metal overlaid the yelling voices until finally, mercifully, they stopped.

Rapid footsteps approached Jack, and the boy whimpered.

"Frostbite! Oi Frost, look at me," Jack heard.

He could not see. He was blind! Didn't the person know that?

"Jack! Hey mate, can you hear me?"

Something soft touched Jack's chest, and Jack cried out in pain.

The voice swore.

The person would not stop touching him, prodding him and hurting him. Jack could only sob.

Jack heard ripping and realized the person was tearing his jacket off him.

"Hold on, Frost! Crikey! We just got you back. You can't leave us now, you bloody idiot!" The voice had tears in it.

The person was cradling him now, pressing fabric into his side.

"Hold on, Frost! Stay with me!"

Jack fell into oblivion.

* * *

"Should have kept better eye on him… Almost too late…"

"You did your best…"

"…Best not good enough…"

"…fix him up…"

"Will do best… boy… very serious… but missed heart…"

"Pitch…"

"…didn't die…"

"…die…"

* * *

Jack cried out.

Something was squeezing his sides; he couldn't breathe! Jack sat up in order to free himself. That was a mistake.

Pain ripped across his left side, starting on his left shoulder and moving down towards his hip. Panicked, Jack grabbed at the pain and found white bandages bound tightly to his abdomen. His chest was bare except for the bandages, but thankfully he still wore his black jeans from the night before.

Propping himself up against the wall, Jack took stock on his surroundings. He was in a bed in a room painted a light blue. The furniture was sparse: a bed, a dresser with a mirror, and a desk with a chair. Looking more closely, Jack could see intricate patterns carved into the wooden furniture, but Jack was not too interested in that.

One fact did stick out about this place though. He did not recognize it.

Jack swung his legs over the side of the bed. He had in mind to check the dresser for some sort of shirt, but stopped when pain flared in his side again. Jack's breath came out like a hiss, and he clutched at the wound.

The dark man, Jack remembered. Some freak with a weapon had attacked him last night.

The door to the room slammed open, and Jack yelped in surprise.

"I heard you yell," Jack's least favorite rabbit said. Was that a boomerang in the rabbit's hand?

"Get out!" Jack yelled. The teenager grabbed the nearest thing—a pillow—and threw it.

Jack grit his teeth as another spasm of pain shot through his body.

The rabbit warrior did not even try to defend himself and just let the pillow hit him harmlessly.

Bunny watched the pillow fall to the ground and raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the teenager.

"Really, mate?" Bunny scoffed. "I just saved your sorry little arse, and this is my thanks?"

"I'm really not in the mood," Jack grounded out, still holding his side. "I told you to leave me alone."

"And leave you to Pitch? I don't think so, mate," Bunny snorted.

"Pitch?"

"Pitch Black, Boogeyman. The drongo who took a swing at ya last night," Bunny explained. "Apparently, he's the one who's behind all this."

Bunny made a vague gesture in Jack's direction.

"Can we not talk about that," Jack muttered. He was tired of all this Jack Frost stuff.

Bunny's eyes flicked upwards.

"Ya tried to dye your hair," Bunny noted.

Jack grunted, wishing the rabbit would leave.

"Hate to tell ya, but it didn't work so well," Bunny said.

Jack gave the rabbit a skeptical look, and the rabbit in turn only jerked his chin towards the dresser mirror.

The teenager considered just laying back down and dreaming away this nightmare, but his curiosity got the best of him.

Carefully, Jack made his way towards the dresser mirror.

"Crap," Jack hissed.

White streaks were clearly visible in his hair again.

"The bottle said it was long-lasting," Jack complained as he ran a hand through his hair.

Strangely enough, the action seemed to make his hair whiter, and when Jack inspected his hand, he saw brown smudges on his palm. Jack was pretty sure hair dye was not supposed to do that.

"Might want to get your money back then," Bunny said snidely. "Human products don't work so well on people like us."

Jack did not like how the rabbit included him in the "us."

"I'm not one of you," Jack muttered. "Where am I anyways?"

"Your room," Bunny supplied simply.

"I'm pretty sure I know what my room looks like, and this isn't it," Jack snorted.

Bunny gave an exasperated sigh, "Your room in North's workshop."

"North what?"

The rabbit flinched as if the question offended him. "Not what, who. Ya know. Santa? Kris Kringle? The jolly, ol' bloke himself."

A shock went through Jack's system. It could not be real.

Jack stumbled towards the door, pushing past the rabbit.

"Oi, ya dill. Where do ya think your goin'?" Bunny made a move to grab him, but despite his injuries, Jack managed to evade him.

He limped through the halls with the oversized rabbit trailing after him. Turning a corner, Jack came into an open room and—

Jack sucked in a breath, ignoring the ache in his chest and limped a little faster until he reached the railing. Underneath him, Santa's workshop spread down several stories. Huge, furry creatures ran around the tables stacked high with projects and avoided little red pyramids that could be seen dashing in and out of the organized chaos.

It was a child's wonderland.

"Wow," Jack breathed. His eyes darted around, trying to take it all in at once.

"Quite the sight, ain't it?" Bunny agreed. "Ya should see my place though. It's twice the shocker."

Momentarily forgetting his dislike for the rabbit, Jack pointed down and asked, "Who are the furry guys?"

"North's workers—the yetis." Bunny gave Jack a sidelong glance and added, "Your quite good friends with them. Ya would spend hours with them—testing toys, wreaking havoc—the normal deal. It would at least keep ya amused and out of my fur for a while."

Jack shook his head. "Stop reminding me of memories I don't have."

Bunny opened his mouth respond, but a loud booming voice cut him off.

"There he is!"

Jack found himself enveloped in two wide arms and promptly squished against red fabric.

"North, ya dill! That's not a—"

"Jack, m'boy!" the voice above him crowed, and the arms squeezed.

Black fuzzy dots invaded Jack's vision, and all the boy could do was choke. He needed to escape, but his body went numb with pain.

"Breathe," he managed to choke out. "Need to…"

Someone shouted, and the pressure disappeared, leaving Jack with nothing supporting his weight.

He did not remember hitting the ground, but the next thing he was able to see was the ceiling and a green and blue blur darting around the corners of his vision.

"Oh, Jack! Are you okay? North didn't mean it. Sweetie, just breathe."

Jack blinked, and Tooth's face came into focus, all scrunched with worry as she rambled.

"I'm okay," he wheezed.

Jack propped himself up, and Tooth grabbed him, lending him a shoulder to lean on.

"Sandy, bring over a chair," Tooth called out.

Jack felt himself being lowered into a chair, and he gratefully sank into it.

"Sorry, Jack," the booming Russian voice said.

Jack looked up and saw one of the biggest men he had even seen lumbering up to him. With the white beard and red color scheme, there was no mistaking who this was.

The large man's entire front was covered with frost, but he did not seem to notice or care.

Bunny though observed it all through narrowed eyes, casting a pointed look in Jack's direction.

"I forgot about injuries in excitement of seeing you," Santa Claus stated.

Jack touched the bandages wrapped around his chest, glad for something else to focus on rather than the lingering chill on his skin. "How long was I out?" Jack asked.

"Bah, just a day," Santa answered.

"A _day!_" Jack repeated.

"Would have been longer—_much_ longer—if you went to a normal hospital," Bunny snorted. "Be grateful to North here. He's the one who patched ya up."

Jack swallowed the nasty comment that formed on the tip of his tongue. He instead eyed the man in red and mumbled, "Thanks."

North grinned widely and raised a hand as if to slap him on the back, but thought better of it. The man nodded instead and said, "Is nothing, Jack."

Jack eyes widened as he suddenly remembered something. "My parents," Jack gasped.

He stumbled to his feet, and a short man in gold held up his hands as if he were calming a horse. The golden man laid a comforting, but firm hand on Jack and guided him back into his seat.

"Took care of that, mate," Bunny said.

The rabbit tossed Jack something, but the teen was too distracted by the pain in his side to try and catch it. It instead hit him in on his shoulder.

"Ow," Jack hissed.

The golden man gave Bunny a reproachful glare. The rabbit in turn had the decency to look slightly ashamed and picked up to the object to give Jack.

"My phone?" Jack asked as he took the object from the rabbit.

"I texted your mom. Said you were doing a project at Kyle's house for the whole weekend," Bunny explained. "I hope that's believable. I just picked the name you last texted."

Jack stared incredulously at the rabbit. "My phone's locked. How'd you get in?"

Bunny shrugged. "Easy enough. You used 1-7-1-2 as your code."

"How is that easy?" Jack questioned. "Those were random numbers I chose."

The rabbit snorted. "Random, eh? 1712 is the year Jack Frost was born."

Jack's cheeks burned, and he vowed to change the password as soon as possible.

The golden man laid a hand on Jack's leg, gaining the boy's attention.

Gold sand flew into front of the boy's eyes and formed a Band-Aid and then a question mark.

"I'm fine. I just need to get home as soon as…" Jack trailed off as he stared at the golden man. Looking from the sand to the man, Jack murmured. "You… You're the Sandman."

Jack mind blanked on him for a moment as he raised his head to observe the people surrounding him.

The Sandman, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Santa Clause. They were all here.

The Tooth Fairy flew up to him. "You needn't be afraid, Jack," she assured. "We're just here to help you."

"I don't… I'm not scared," Jack replied softly. His mind eventually registered the other sentence, and he jerked away from the Tooth Fairy, saying, "And I don't need help. Just take me home."

"Oh, no you don't, Frostbite," Bunny said, standing imposingly in front of Jack.

Jack stood despite Sandy's silent protests.

"Oh yeah, Cottontail?" Jack shot back. "You're just going to keep me here?"

Bunny made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat. He opened his mouth to reply, but North interrupted him.

"How 'bout we make deal?" North turned towards Jack and stepped in front of Bunny to block him from view. "There are things we wish to discuss with you, Jack. All we want is for you to listen. You listen, and we promise to take you home. Fair deal, yes?"

"How's that fair when you abducted me?" Jack asked.

"Well aren't ya an ungrateful dingo," Bunny snorted somewhere from behind North. "I saved your sorry little butt. Remember? North here has a much better deal than the one I would have given ya. It's that least ya could do, for the trouble ya put me through."

Flashing back to his last memory before waking up, Jack recalled the furry arms that cradled him like a child and the soft voice that soothed his fears. The teenager gritted his teeth, hating that he owed the rabbit one.

"Fine, I'll listen, but I go home as soon as that's done with," Jack said. Unbidden, a shiver went up Jack's spine as if protesting the prospect of spending another second with these people.

"Most kids would die for a chance to be with us," Bunny remarked, marching out from behind North so that he now stood nose to nose with Jack.

"Well, I'm not most kids," Jack returned.

"Clearly," Bunny mocked. "I wouldn't be surprised if ya were dropped on your head when ya were born."

"Jack! Bunny! Enough!" Tooth said.

The two silenced at the fairy queen's voice.

The Tooth Fairy glared at the two of them as she hovered just above their heads, and then for some reason, she smiled and then laughed. Her laughter spread to the other Guardians, while Jack just looked on in confusion.

"Only a few minutes together, and already at each other's necks. Crikey, we're hopeless," Bunny chuckled.

"Is therapeutic, no?" North asked.

Bunny grunted in affirmation.

Jack scowled, feeling like he was being left out of some great inside joke.

"I'm sorry, Jack," Tooth said, catching sight of the teen's expression. "It's just that you've only been here a little while, and it's just so much more lively with you around already."

"Yeah well, don't get used to it," Jack muttered, hating that look of hope that he saw in all their eyes. He could not give them what they wanted, so the sooner he got out of here, the better.

They relocated to what looked like a dining room with a huge, oak table. Jack hobbled over to a chair and sank into it with much relief.

Something soft hit his shoulder, and Jack looked over to see Tooth offering him a blanket. He swallowed his guilt for his previous harsh words and took it from her, draping it around his bare shoulders.

"So you know about Jack Frost from Bunny and Tooth, yes? Which is you of course," North began.

"Of course," Jack muttered without any conviction.

"Well, Jack Frost and Guardians, us, have powerful enemy," North continued.

"Pitch," Jack supplied. "The guy who attacked me last night."

North nodded.

"Ya remember much of last night?" Bunny probed.

Jack considered the question for a second. He saw the dark man clearly in his mind, but besides the pain…

"I don't really… I remember glimpses," Jack murmured.

Bunny nodded, his eyes narrowed in either suspicion or concern. Jack could not tell which.

"Anyways, Jack Frost was the reason Pitch lost the Battle of Burgess about a century ago," Tooth said. "It's no surprise that Pitch's biggest grudge is with him."

"Which is why he attacked me last night? Because I look like Jack Frost?" Jack asked.

"Of all the stubborn fools—he attacked you because you _are _Jack Frost, ya dill!" Bunny said.

"Sorry, if I don't believe," Jack spat back. "But if you haven't noticed I'm human. Jack Frost is this spirit guy." Jack put a hand over his beating heart. "I'm definitely alive."

"We didn't understand it either," Tooth said in a placating tone. "That is until we started dressing your wounds."

Golden sand formed over Sandy's head into a weird blob. Jack did not know what to make of it.

"That mark on your right shoulder, Jack. What is it?" Tooth asked.

Jack looked down self-consciously at the shoulder that wasn't covered in bandages. Sure enough, a mark exactly like Sandy's golden blob stretched across his skin.

"My birthmark? I've always had it. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything," North answered seriously.

He laid something in front of Jack. It was a huge, old book opened to a certain page with strange pictures and writing in a language Jack did not recognize. Jack could not make sense of any of it, but one thing did stand out.

"It's my birthmark," Jack murmured, running his hands over some writing in the book.

Looking at them in the book rather than on his shoulder, Jack could see now that they kind of resembled some sort of old runes like the kind he remembered seeing on a picture of the Rosetta Stone.

"Why would you have a picture of my birthmark?" Jack asked, confused.

Everyone looked to North for an explanation.

"This book was written many, many centuries ago," North told them. "Is from my teacher. He was last great wizard, and of course had many spells. Some perhaps which should have been destroyed ages ago."

North nodded towards the book, his eyes dark.

"That spell was meant to control elemental spirits. My teacher meant it to be a last safety measure for an out-of-control elemental. Never for something like this."

North waved his hand at Jack.

Jack's eyes widened as he saw what North meant.

"You think that Pitch used that spell on Jack Frost and turned him into me?" Jack whispered, his voice trembling.

"Not think—know," Bunny corrected. "That mark ya have is perfectly copied from the book. There's no doubt that ya have a spell on ya."

"So you've seen this before? Spirits turning into humans?" Jack turned back to North.

The big man looked uncomfortable when he answered, "Here is where situation gets… sticky. For normal elemental, spell takes away their power, and they revert to something of their lost power. Like spring is flower or something.

But you—Jack Frost was different. First, he was Guardian—much stronger than ordinary spirit. Second, Jack was not born like other elementals. He was human in past life, changed by the Moon to be Jack Frost."

"Which is why we think you are the way you are," Tooth picked up. "The spell is meant to force the spirit into a kind of default mode, and Jack Frost's default was his human side."

"Which you think is me," Jack stated.

"Not think—_know_," Bunny said again. "Ya can't ignore the evidence, mate. Your appearance, your presence, that mark on your shoulder, your emerging powers: they all point to ya bein' Jack Frost."

Jack was silent for a moment. His side still ached, but he became much more aware of a sharp pain in his head and heart as well.

Gasping, Jack placed a hand against his forehead, grabbing at his hair.

"Jack, we're not telling you this to hurt you," Tooth tried to sooth. Her voice only served to grate Jack's nerves.

"Then why are you telling me this?" Jack asked. "Why couldn't you just leave me alone? I was happy before you all came along."

The Guardians shared sad looks, and Tooth answered for them, "We did consider that. We did not want to hurt you, and if that meant losing you, we were willing to do that."

"But?" Jack prompted when she trailed off.

Tooth sighed. "But there are several things. For one, you are a Guardian, and we are responsible for keeping you accountable to your duties. Also as Bunny told you, the storms across the world are not getting any better. The world needs you to control them. But… the real reason we decided to reach out to you is because of the nature of Guardians."

Tooth nearly choked on the last sentence and looked up to her fellow Guardians for help.

"Guardians are blessed with much power," North continued for her. "But we also are linked to the children who we protect. If they lose their faith in us, we fade. We are not sure how that works for you as you are now, but we fear… that some day before your time ends as human you will fade."

Jack refused to look at the Guardians. His hand gripped harder at the strands of his hair, and the other squeezed the armrest of his chair as if to keep him grounded.

"You… You're saying that I'm dying?" Jack croaked.

"Well, I wouldn't—" Bunny began.

"That's what this 'fading' is," Jack snapped. He looked up, and they saw tears that the teen was trying desperately to keep from falling. "Isn't it?"

Their silence was answer enough.

"Then take away the Guardianship," Jack demanded. "I don't want it anymore."

"Are you saying ya believe your Jack Frost then?" Bunny asked.

"No!" Jack snapped. He grimaced and then added more softly, "I don't know. I just—I can't be dying…"

Tooth shared glances with her fellow Guardians and then answered for all of them, "The thing is no one's ever been stripped of the Guardianship. There's never been a need to, and the vow… it's one of permanence. I'm sorry, Jack, but I believe what is done is done."

Gripping his fists into tight balls, Jack gave a sharp cry that the Guardians wasn't sure was frustration, anger, or sadness.

"Jack," Tooth murmured gently.

She laid a hand on his arm, but he jerked it away.

Tooth eyes widened as frost coated her fingertips, but she withdrew her hand without any comment.

"Take me home," Jack rasped. He turned his face away, so it was now shadowed by his multi-colored hair.

"Jack," Tooth said again a little more anxiously.

"That was our deal," Jack grounded out. "I kept my end of it. I'm done listening. Now take me home."

"After what Pitch tried to do to ya?"

"Jack, don't you want to talk about this?"

"We don't want you to get hurt, my boy."

They kept talking over each other, making Jack's headache worsen. Jack wanted to run, scream, and cry all at the same time, but he seemed to be frozen in his seat.

A clear ringing sound cut through the Guardians voices like a harsh reprimand, and gradually, they all quieted.

Jack looked up and saw the Sandman place a bell onto the table with a satisfied, but grim expression on his face.

The golden man floated over to Jack, and Jack could not help but reach out and grasp him hand as if it were his last anchor of hope.

"Please take me home," Jack begged.

Sandy nodded, a sad smile on his lips.

He stroked Jack's hand, and his touch soothed Jack's fears.

The Sandman reached up and touched Jack's forehead.

Jack's vision went black, and he was floating in a dreamless world.

When he opened his eyes again, he was alone, staring up at his bedroom ceiling with tears streaking down his cheeks.

* * *

**A hundred reviews (shout out to for being the 100****th****)! A huge thank you to all my readers! :D **

**Answers to anonymous reviews:**

**WEast: **Thanks for another review! I know poor Jack is needed in both places, but we'll just have to wait and see what he decides.

**Bonca: **Some of your questions should have been answered in this chapter, but to how Jack remembered Pitch, I'm kinda chalking that one up as a memory fluke. Jack did and didn't remember Pitch as his present and past selves are conflicting. Yes, it's confusing… haha Nice try, but I'm not a fast enough writer to get out a chapter in a day, but I did manage to get this chapter out in a week :) Thanks!

**Devil angel: **I will be gone for a whole school semester, so several months… It's possible the study abroad will not affect my updates at all, but we shall see. Thanks again!

**Guest: **I'm guessing that you are the same person who left two reviews… In which case, thank you for both! I'm glad you like the OCs.

**~playing-in-the-mud**


	8. Chapter 8: From Bad to Worse

**Chapter 8 – From Bad to Worse**

* * *

_**Previously**_

"_Guardians are blessed with much power," North continued. "But we also are linked to the children who we protect. If they lose their faith in us, we fade. We are not sure how that works for you as you are now, but we fear… that some day before your time ends as human you will fade."_

_Jack refused to look at the Guardians. His hand gripped harder at the strands of his hair, and the other squeezed the armrest of his chair as if to keep him grounded. _

"_You… You're saying that I'm dying?" Jack croaked._

* * *

**17 years in the past**

Winds swept through the town, weaving and dancing in and out of the crowds.

The snow soon followed through the path carved out by the wind.

Adults cursed the cold and tugged their jackets tighter around their bodies, but the children saw and listened to the storm with clear eyes and ears.

There was laughter in the air.

"Snow day!"

The white-haired teen sped up the side of a building before letting his body fall with the pull of gravity. Laughter escaped the boy's lips, and the wind pulled at his clothes and hair. At the last second, the boy pulled up and wove through the street traffic.

Frost patterns followed in his wake, and laughter echoed his own.

Around the street, kids all had their heads upturned, and little gloved hands waving at the sky. Adults would dismiss it for childish glee in the first snow, but the children smiled their secret smiles and kept waving at the white-haired teen.

The boy laughed as he came to rest on the edge of an overhang. Frost gathered on the stone beneath his feet, and Jack was sure to make it his best work yet.

Children shouted with joy as patterns of animals carved themselves into the frost and then leapt to life under their winter prince's command.

Cries went up from the children as they bounded after the frost animals. The boy listened to them babble in their strange language. He knew none of their foreign tongue (another one to ask Tooth about), but one thing did translate.

"Jack Frost! Jack Frost!" the children cheered.

Grinning goofily, Jack swept into a dramatic bow, which was met with more cheers.

"Now how 'bout that snow fight?" Jack called down.

The children understood him just as much as he understood them, but with their shared language of laughter, the most epic snowball fight commenced. Even some adults got swept up into it much to their confusion and eventual delight.

Later, the spirit and humans alike would find themselves collapsed in the new piles of snow with no clear winner, but many smiling faces.

The sun now dipped low in the sky, and the adults began to gather their children, herding them towards home and beds.

"Jackie!"

Jack turned in time to see a little girl barrel into him. He swayed at the impact, but managed to keep his balance.

A shiver of pleasure went up Jack's spine, and he once again marveled at the warmth of an embrace. No matter how many times it happened, it never lost its magic.

Jack leaned down and returned the hug.

She murmured something to him in her language, and Jack gave her an extra squeeze, assuming it was some sort of thanks.

"Now off to bed, kiddo," Jack said, patting her back. "Sandman will be here soon, and you don't want to miss that!"

The girl nodded like she understood and ran off to a woman who was calling to her.

With a final wave, Jack turned his attention to his long time friend. "Hey wind! How about a visit's to Tooth's? It's been a while since we saw her last."

In answer, the wind swept up its winter child, and together they sped to the Tooth Palace with Jack's snow flurries and fun following after them.

"Faster, Wind!" Jack called, eager to his friend as soon as possible.

The wind complied with a sharp whistle, and Jack sped along.

The world had now become an indistinct blur, so Jack did not see the attack coming.

Something dark darted around his blind spot, and the thing hit him along the side of his cheek. Jack cried out, coming to an abrupt stop. The thing scraped across his skin like sandpaper.

Bringing a hand up to his face, Jack gingerly cradled his cheek, and when he drew the hand back, he saw blood staining his fingertips.

A horse's whinny called out a challenge.

"Pitch," Jack directed at the man sitting astride the horse.

"Frost," the man sneered back.

"Getting a bit cocky challenging a Guardian in the state your in?" Jack called down to the Nightmare King.

"Getting a bit cocky to think that the title will give you any sort of protection?" Pitch scoffed.

Jack charged the man on the horse, swinging his staff in a wide arch. Several nightmares appeared from the shadows and charged the winter child, but Jack barely even paused give them a second glance as he easily mowed them down.

Jack hurtled into Pitch, freezing the steed beneath him. Bringing up a leg, Jack knocked Pitch back with a jarring kick.

Pitch picked himself up from the ground and began dusting himself as if Jack's fury was of no major concern.

"A bit wound up, aren't we Frost?" the Nightmare King said evenly.

"Oh don't give me that," Jack returned. "Wherever you are, trouble's on its way. And besides, you were the one to attack first, remember?"

Pitch nodded thoughtfully as if the memory did just resurface.

"Yes, that's right," Pitch murmured. "You destroyed my fear with your _fun._"

With that last word, Pitch raised both of his arms and a wave of nightmare sand rose like a great tsunami.

Jack readied his staff and faced the onslaught head-on.

It was not much of a fight really. The Nightmare King's show was impressive for sure, but it was definitely more bark than bite. Jack batted aside the nightmare sand with ease.

Pitch sent wave after wave of sand at Jack, but the past decades of delightful belief for the Guardians had weakened Pitch's power considerably.

"Is that all you have?" Jack mocked as he threw another snowball at a nightmare that froze upon impact. Jack laughed and prepared another snowball in his hand.

Something slammed into Jack's shoulder _hard_, and the frost child fell to the ground with a cry.

Instinctively, Jack's staff went up, and he heard a satisfying grunt of pain from his assailant.

Stumbling to his feet, Jack readied his staff in front of him, but his right shoulder _burned—_literally. Jack winced as his right arm fell to his side uselessly, and the smell of burning flesh made him want to gag.

Despite the injury though, Jack had a lot of energy left.

Concentrating his power into his staff, Jack swung his staff around in a wide circle, and energy shot out and froze the remaining nightmares.

"You lose, Pitch," Jack said, leveling his staff at the dark man.

Pitch stood alone and with ice creeping up his side from Jack's earlier attack, but disturbingly, a gleeful grin stretched unnaturally across his face.

"Merely pawns," Pitch sneered, waving a dismissive hand at the frozen nightmares. "I've already got the king."

"What?" Jack asked.

He took a step forward, intent on marching up to the other man to maybe force some answers out of him, but suddenly his legs could no longer hold his weight. He fell to his knees.

His shoulder began throbbing again, and Jack gasped when he finally looked over to check the wound. His hoodie was burned away at his shoulder and the skin underneath looked a sickly shade of gray. Most disturbing of all though was the red mark that glowed angrily up at him.

"What is—what—" Jack's words were cut short by a cry of pain, and he had to use his left arm to brace himself against the ground as a spasm of pain ripped through his body.

"What did you do?" Jack finally managed to gasp.

A hand roughly grabbed Jack by the chin and forced his face up so he was looking directly into the Nightmare King's face. Ice continued to creep up Pitch's side, but he hardly seemed to care as he grinned maliciously down at Jack.

"I brought a little something special for you, Jack," Pitch explained. "You're an elemental. I think it's about time for you to know your rightful place."

Somehow, Jack scrapped enough strength to bring his staff up again and catch Pitch right in the face.

The Nightmare King reeled back, spitting curses at the boy.

Jack used his staff to hoist himself up.

"The Guardians won't fall to you," Jack whispered through clenched teeth. "Especially not with you so weak."

"The Guardians," Pitch laughed. "Jack, all I want is you."

For once in his life, Jack felt cold as he felt the world spin around him. Oxygen was violently yanked out of his lounges, and Jack stumbled backwards.

"Wind," Jack mouthed. The word did not really leave his mouth, but it was enough. The wind cradled Jack and swept him away with the Nightmare's cackling following after him.

* * *

**Present**

"Well, that went well," Bunny grumbled.

The Guardians sat around the oak table in North's workshop, now missing one of their numbers. Again.

"What else could we do?" Tooth murmured softly.

She stared into her cup of untouched hot chocolate that had gone cold long ago.

"I don't know," Bunny growled. "How about kept him here, make him listen? Why did ya have to take him back?"

He directed the last question at the golden man who, for once, seemed very uninterested in his cup of eggnog.

Sensing that Bunny's anger was now directed at him, Sandy looked over at his friend and gave him a long, hard look.

The meaning was clear: _I want Jack Frost back as much as anyone, but I will not hurt the Bennett boy in the process of doing so. _

Bunny snorted, but backed off.

For a man who said absolutely nothing, Sandy could fit a lot of words in one look. Must have been the centuries of practice.

"What do ya think about all this, North? That spell on Jack's body… Do ya think it could be undone?" Bunny asked instead of what was still boiling around in his head.

North stroked his beard, his eyes fixed on the open book of magic.

"Is hard to say. Like I said before, spell is powerful and perhaps should have been destroyed long ago. There has never been need to make reverse spell, but I am good with magic, no?" North's eyes twinkled at the little boast, but it disappeared quickly as the man sobered. "But might take time to do. There is no way to test this magic, so I must be careful."

"So until then the kid will need a bodyguard," Bunny said.

"Assuming Jack will let us break the spell," Tooth pointed out.

Bunny acknowledged her comment with an unhappy grunt.

"I'll head over to Burgess now, and relieve Baby Tooth of her watch," Bunny announced.

Tooth shook her head, saying, "No. Keep Baby Tooth with you. She could act as a messenger in case of an emergency."

"Thanks," Bunny said.

Bunny got up, ready to once again keep an eye on a certain frost child-turned-human when North's voice stopped him.

"There is one slight problem with breaking spell," North said. The toymaker's eyes creased with worry as he met his fellow Guardians' gazes. "Where is Jack's staff?"

* * *

Jack was wearing a blue hoodie when he woke up.

Jack did not own a blue hoodie.

When he had woken up after his disaster of a day, Jack found his wounds rewrapped and himself dressed in a plain white t-shirt and blue hoodie.

Thankfully, the pain was now reduced to a dull ache, but the sight of the blue hoodie only served to leave a bad taste in his mouth.

He almost ripped the hoodie from his body in a fit, but he hesitated. He could not deny how comfortable he felt in it like a child with its favorite blanket.

Jack studied his reflection in his bedroom mirror. The hoodie definitely did not look bad. It fit him well as if made specifically made for him, which Jack suspected it was. No, it definitely did not look bad, but it was the other boy's hoodie.

And Jack hated the visual reminder that he… that he…

With a sudden realization, Jack ran his fingers through his hair and found it completely brown again. It was almost natural—way better than Christina's dye job—and when Jack took his hand away there were no brown streaks on his palm.

At least that was one good thing to come from the rather unfortunate encounter with the Guardians.

A knock on his door startled him, and it took him a moment to respond.

"Yeah?" Jack called out.

"Jack," James's muffled voice came from behind the door. "You're walking me to school today remember? Mom can't drive us."

Jack cursed under his breath, and grabbed at his backpack. No time for an outfit change. Whether he liked the hoodie or not, Jack was now stuck with it for the time being.

"Coming," Jack said.

James was already making his way downstairs by the time Jack opened his door. The teenage bounded down the stairs and grabbed a granola bar from the kitchen before meeting his little brother at the door.

"Sorry, bud. I had… a hard time getting up this morning," Jack said.

James grinned widely and hopped out into the cold morning air.

"Look at all this snow, Jack!" James exclaimed, gesturing to the white expanse.

Jack grimaced; the sight did not bring him the normal joy it normally did.

"You were gone all weekend, so we couldn't have snowball fight like we always do," James pouted. "But we can do it later, right?"

Jack gave his brother a weak smile, but didn't reply.

James frowned at his brother's lack of response.

The teenager tried to ignore his brother's suspicious looks and made a show of eating his granola bar.

The younger boy leaned in close to Jack and whispered conspiratorially, "Is it your time of the month?"

_That_ got a response out of Jack.

"What?" Jack sputtered, almost choking on his breakfast. "Where did you hear that?"

The boy shrugged, his brows scrunched in confusion. "I heard Dad say that once when Mom snapped at him," James told him innocently.

Jack managed a watery laugh. "Hey, bud. That's only for girls, and don't ever say that to a girl unless you want to get slapped."

"What does it mean?" James asked, tilting his head.

Jack fumbled with his breakfast, looking into James's wide, innocent brown eyes.

"It means don't piss off any girl who seems moodier than usual," Jack said.

"That's not an answer," James's pouted. "I could always Google it if you don't tell me."

Jack gave an inward sigh. When did his little brother get so smart?

"Ask Dad if you really want to know," Jack suggested. "That would be a hundred times better than looking it up on the Internet. Trust me on this one, okay bud?"

James considered that for a second before nodding.

Jack did not say anything else, and James took the hint that Jack did not feel like talking. Not about to let his older brother's mood get him down, James scampered ahead, stomping on snow and jumping into snowdrifts.

"Cute kid," a voice with an Australian voice commented.

Jack sighed. Really he was no longer surprised.

"I guess it's too much to hope that you guys will leave me alone," Jack said to the rabbit squatting in the snow.

Bunny got up and matched Jack's pace, still crouched on all fours.

"Not on your nelly," the rabbit snorted. "Not after what Pitch attempted. I'll be keepin' a closer eye on ya from now on. Don't worry though. I'll try to keep out of your personal life as much as possible."

"Which is why you are talking to me right now," Jack scoffed.

"Ya looked lonely," the rabbit said. "And no one's around yet to see."

"James could look back at any second."

"I'll be gone by then. He won't get a glimpse of me."

Jack trudged on. As much as the rabbit still annoyed him, his talk with the Guardians had awakened a sadness in him, and Jack could not help but be a little grateful for the rabbit's warm presence.

"You really miss Jack, don't you? Your Jack, I mean," the teenager speculated.

The rabbit was quiet for ten steps.

"That annoying little bugger with his infernal cold and jokes?" Bunny scoffed. "Yeah, of course I miss him."

"I'm sorry," Jack said, not exactly sure what he was apologizing for.

"Mate," Bunny sighed, but he cut himself off when James suddenly whipped around back towards Jack.

Jack wondered what the rabbit was about to say, but when he turned to look at the rabbit, there was no one there.

"Come on, Jack," James said. "At this rate, we'll both be late."

Jack grinned down at his brother.

"Oh yeah?" he returned. "Wanna race?"

He did not wait for James's reply and took off. The wind whipped at his face, and Jack relished its cold touch.

"Jack!" James's voice laughed behind him.

The teenager slowed down and allowed for his brother to catch up.

As quickly as the wind tore away his worries, they returned, and Jack tried not to look so upset as he watched James jog up to him.

James grinned up at him, and Jack tried to return it.

"Hey, James?" Jack said.

"Yes?"

"What if I went away for college? Like somewhere out of town?" Jack asked quietly.

Surprised, James replied, "I thought you were thinking of staying here for college."

"I was, bud," Jack agreed. "But a… a teacher suggested a school outside of the state for me. He said it might be a good fit for me. I just wanted to know what you thought."

"Is that what you've been moping about?"

"I am not moping!"

"Right," James drawled.

Seriously, when had his little brother gotten so smart?

James was quiet for a moment, seriously considering the idea, and then answered, "I'd miss you, but you would visit, right?"

"Of course, bud," Jack promised with a twinge of guilt. Do Guardians get vacation days?

James broke out into a grin. "Then it's okay! If your teacher said it's good for you, you should go."

Jack's guilt built up tenfold as he stared into the trusting eyes of his little brother. How could he make promises he wasn't sure he could keep?

"Don't write me off just yet," Jack said instead of what was really weighing on his mind. He forced a smile. "I still got a while before I even have to apply anywhere, so things might change."

James gave him a huge smile, and Jack felt like the worst big brother in the world.

Jack dropped his brother off at his school and headed off towards his own. The Easter Bunny never showed up after that. Jack expected that there were too many kids out and about on the main road for the rabbit to walk about so openly. Jack was not sure if he was glad or disappointed about that.

Slipping into his first class, Jack settled into his normal corner. It wasn't long until Kyle, Karla, and Christina joined him.

"So what gives, man?" Kyle whined. "I kept texting you all weekend, but you never responded."

Jack opened his mouth to respond, but another voice cut him off.

"This is study hall. Take out work from one of your classes and get to work," the teacher upfront announced, her voice monotone as if reading from a script.

The students quieted long enough for her to give her daily announcement and then went right back to talking.

"Sorry, Kyle," Jack responded. "I was out somewhere with no service."

"Where's that?" Kyle questioned.

"The North Pole," Jack grumbled.

Kyle burst out laughing, ignoring the annoyed looks from the teacher.

Karla elbowed Kyle in the side.

"Ow," he complained. He looked back at Jack and noticed no one else was laughing. "Oh, you weren't joking."

"No, I wasn't," Jack said. He hated the conflicted looks his friends kept giving him like they were trying to figure out the best way to tell him he was crazy. "I'm not making this up guys."

"Okay," Karla said in a placating but not fully convinced way. "What did you do at the North Pole?"

"I met Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and the Sandman after they saved me from an attack from the Boogeyman," Jack answered bluntly, past caring how stupid he sounded.

"Okay," Karla said slowly. She looked one second away from calling the teacher over.

"Look," Jack sighed. He lifted up the hoodie and shirt and presented his still bandaged abdomen.

"Oh my gosh!" Christina shrieked.

The teacher cleared her throat loudly, but no one cared to pay attention.

Christina made a motion to touch the bandages, but her fingers stopped an inch from its white surface. Jack felt a sort of satisfaction at the mixed looks of horror and realization on his friends' faces.

"Jack, what happened?" Christina asked.

"Like I said, I got attacked by the Boogeyman." Jack let down his hoodie and recounted the events of the weekend to his friends.

His friends were quiet for a moment, taking it all in.

"It's all so…" Christina started.

"…Unbelievable," Karla agreed.

"I'm not lying or crazy," Jack defended himself.

"No. No, I don't think you are," Christina reassured him. Her eyes drifted down to his stomach, and her eyes became sad. "What now?"

"I…" Jack wasn't sure. No, he was sure, but he was afraid to voice it aloud.

"Jack," Christina murmured. She took his hand. "You're thinking of going to them aren't you?"

Jack hung his head, and squeezed desperately at her hand.

"I don't know what else to do," Jack said. He had not yet told them the little detail of him possibly dying, but he decided to hold onto that for another conversation.

"Why go to them at all?" Kyle asked.

Jack snorted, "I apparently have a dark spirit person who wants me dead. I can't live always looking behind me, and I highly doubt that there are security systems built for the kind of protection."

"I bet Santa Claus could whip something up for you," Kyle suggested.

"I don't think so," Jack said. "Plus I can't live my life locked in a house either."

Kyle opened his mouth to answer, but before he could utter a word…

"You'll all be spending your time locked in detention if you all don't get out work to do in this _study hall_."

Four pairs of eyes swiveled to where the teacher stood over them with her arms crossed.

"Hullo, Mrs. Baker." Kyle smiled winningly at her. "I must say you look much prettier when you're not all frown-y and imposing."

"And why do you suspect I am all 'frown-y and imposing?'" Mrs. Baker questioned.

"Aw, come on, Teach," Kyle practically whined. "It's just study hall. Look everyone else it talking."

Kyle gestured at the rest of the class who were indeed talking more than studying.

"At the moment, _Bartholomew_, I am concerned with you and your posse. I shall deal with the rest of the rabble when I see fit," Mrs. Baker said icily.

Kyle's smile froze on his face, and the rest of his expression became brittle.

"We'll be quiet," Kyle promised behind clenched teeth.

Mrs. Baker gave one last nod before moving past their group.

The four of them quickly got out some work to put on a show of productivity.

"She's had it out for me since day one," Kyle growled after a minute of silence. "And why did she have to go and call me that."

"Well, it is your name," Karla sighed.

"My _dad_ is Bartholomew," Kyle griped. "I'm Kyle. Everyone knows that."

"Well it might be kind of confusing since all your records do say Bartholomew K. Wheeler," Christina reasoned.

"Okay, so all I have to do it write 'Kyle' somewhere so she won't forget it," Kyle mused. "How about her car? In big, fat red lettering."

"Vandalizing with your own signature?" Karla snorted. "Not your brightest scheme to date."

"Or maybe," Kyle continued as if he did not hear Karla. "I could sneak the surprise I was saving for Brittney into her desk."

"That little snowball contraption of yours?" Karla hissed. "I don't think that improve Mrs. Baker's impression of you."

"Sorry to break up this incredibly interesting conversation about Kyle's identity crisis, and not to sound narcissistic and all, but can we focus one problem at a time; particularly _mine,_" Jack whispered sarcastically.

His three friends shared a look that he could not decipher although he was pretty sure that he did not like what it implied.

"Hate to tell you, amigo, but I'm drawing a blank in the ideas department," Kyle whispered back.

"We'll figure this out later when we're not… you know." Christina cast a glance at Mrs. Baker who had decided that another group of students required a stern lecture.

Jack tried not to feel bad as his friends went back to dutifully staring at their unfinished work, and did not speak to him again.

It was Jack's next class when everything went from bad to worse.

First of all, none of his friends were in the class, so there was no one to gripe with or throw wads of paper at. And second of all, his more… magical qualities started acting up again. At least, Jack was pretty sure this had to do with magic.

The stupidest thing about it? It happened during role call.

"Jack Bennett."

"Here," Jack called out automatically, raising his hand.

The teacher paused the mandatory few seconds to allow the student to respond before repeating, "Jack?"

"Here," Jack said a little louder.

The teacher looked up this time, eyes zeroing in on Jack's normal seat, but when Jack's eyes met the teacher's, something about the teacher's eyes seemed… unfocused.

"Is Jack not here today?" the Mr. Mackay asked.

"I'm right here," Jack nearly yelled, jumping out of his seat.

Mr. Mackay startled, his gaze flickering back to Jack's seat.

For a moment, Jack panicked. His mouth went dry as Mr. Mackay studied Jack's desk for a few horrible, silent seconds.

Then, Mr. Mackay's eyes focused on Jack, and he frowned in confusion.

"Sorry, Jack," Mr. Mackay apologized. "My eyes must be playing tricks on me. I didn't see you there."

"So your eyes _and_ your ears aren't working properly," Jack muttered as he sat back down heavily.

The teacher riffled through the rest of the names before picking up on the next chapter of their studies, but Jack hardly paid any attention.

In his mind, Jack kept replaying the whole incident.

The teacher did not see him. How could he miss him?

Jack was only in the second row back and slightly off center from the teacher's line of vision, but it wasn't like he was completely hidden.

And then there was the matter of the teacher not even hearing him.

A now familiar chill crept up Jack's spine, and he bit back a groan.

Jack tried to suppress his shivering, but for once, his heart was not really into fighting against the chill because surprisingly enough, Jack had bigger problems.

For a moment, his teacher could not see him.

For a moment, he had been _invisible. _

And out of all the crazy things that had happened so far, this one scared him the most.

* * *

Jack blew off his schoolwork for the night. It was not like he would be able to concentrate on it anyways.

After a rather awkward dinner of avoiding concerned questions and glances from various members of his family, Jack locked himself inside his room with the stack of his Grandpa J's books.

He grabbed the illustrated Jack Frost book, but had done so a little too quickly.

The book slipped out of its dust cover and hit the ground with a soft thump.

Jack winced as he bent down to retrieve the book. His father had made it very clear that he valued his grandfather's books and probably would not appreciate any damage done to them.

Jack was carefully inspecting the book to see if had been scratched up in any way when something bright pink caught his eye.

He peeled off the pink sticky note that had been previously hidden underneath the front cover, and nearly dropped the book again when he caught sight of the name at the top.

He forced himself to read the neatly written note.

_Dear Jack,  
You trusted me with your heart. It is safe beneath the ice.  
Jamie_

* * *

**Answers to anonymous reviews: **

**Guest: **Here's your more! I'm glad you're enjoying it and thanks for the review!

**Devil Angel: **Thanks for your review! I'm glad you're still enjoying this story.

**~playing-in-the-mud**


	9. Chapter 9 In Which Everything Goes Wrong

**Chapter 9 – In Which Everything Goes Wrong**

* * *

**I went traveling on my program, so to cut down on weight, I did not bring my computer with me, which is why I present this chapter to you a week later than usual. So the next chapter is finally here and soon we shall get to the real action…**

* * *

_**Previously**_

_Dear Jack,  
You trusted me with your heart. It is safe beneath the ice.  
Jamie_

* * *

**17 years in the past**

The battle with Pitch had nearly sapped all of his strength. Not to mention that the mark on his shoulder still felt like it was eating away at his skin. Jack could barely keep himself aloft on the winds.

The journey was long and hard; Jack was not even sure where the Wind was taking him, but Jack trusted his long time companion to guide him. Jack had only strength enough to keep his grip on his staff.

After drifting in and out of consciousness for several hours, Jack felt himself being deposited on soft ground. The pain was overwhelming now. Jack gripped his staff as tightly as he could and labored through each breath.

Fingers scraped at the ground beneath him, and Jack almost gave out a sob when he realized the Wind had brought him home.

"Thanks," Jack rasped to his friend. He turned his head to one side, and sure enough, Jack could see the lake, unfrozen in this time of year, but comforting nonetheless.

A spasm of pain shuttered through Jack's entire body, and Jack bit back a cry of pain.

_Wait, wait, wait, _the Wind whispered as it ruffled his hair gently. _Help. Will find help._

"Wait! Don't leave," Jack called out, but the Wind was already gone.

Jack squeezed his eyes shut as if trying to ward off the fear that stole over his heart. The Wind would be back, Jack assured himself, but every breath felt thicker than the last as if he was breathing smoke rather than air, and Jack wondered if he would black out before the Wind came back.

"Jack!"

The boy's eyes snapped open, the breath catching in the back of his throat. That was a mistake as he immediately began coughing when he body protested its lack of oxygen.

"Jack!" the voice said again.

Arms encircled Jack, and then the winter child found himself propped up in someone's lap.

"Hey, Jack. Can you hear me? It's me."

And so it was. Over the years, Jack had heard that voice young and high with innocence, then breaking with pubescent embarrassment, and finally deep and resonating with gained wisdom. Yet some things never change, Jack thought as he looked up into the face of his first believer.

"Jamie," Jack slurred.

"Yeah, it's me," the man confirmed. Jamie, now an old man, was forever a child at heart. And for that, Jack was eternally grateful.

"Oh gosh, what is that?" Jamie gasped.

Jack's head lolled to one side to see what Jamie was looking at, and saw the angry red, glowing mark still on his shoulder.

"Dunno," Jack managed to answer. "It's probably really bad for my health."

Jamie shifted underneath Jack, and the teen realized Jamie was dragging him towards the lake.

"Yunno, you're pretty strong for an old guy," Jack coughed out. "What are ya now? 78? 79?"

"Shut up, Jack, and tell me what's wrong," Jamie demanded.

"Do I shut up or tell you what's wrong? Kinda hard to do both, yunno?" Jack joked.

Jamie just frowned at Jack's antics.

They reached the lake's edge, and Jamie cupped water into his hands and poured it over Jack's shoulder.

Jack bit his lower lip, unsure if the water's touch was soothing or excruciating. His body felt both hot and cold at the same time, which could not be good for a winter spirit.

"Pitch," Jack finally rasped. "Attacked. Put that thing on me. Don't know what it does."

Jamie poured another handful of water on Jack, and this time, there was no question about what Jack's body was feeling.

Jack screamed.

Vaguely, Jack was aware of Jamie holding him and asking him what was wrong, but it was only a minor detail in a world made of pain. Heat spread out from the mark on Jack's shoulder, eating away at his flesh, his powers, his cold… It kept eating away at him, destroying his life, his essence. Jack knew suddenly that this fire inside of him would not stop until it had consumed everything, and all he could do was wait until the end.

Jack lay limply in his friend's arms, his only remaining hope being the fact that in death he would have no more pain. The fire ate away at his life until it just stopped…

Well, "stopped" was not quite the right word because Jack could still feel the mark's magic stripping away at his life force, but it seemed to skirt around one part of his being.

Bringing a shaky hand up to where Jack knew a human heart would be, Jack internally searched for what part of him that was still untouched.

His fingers tingled when it brushed against his chest, and it took Jack a moment to realize that it was still cold.

It started off as a low chuckle and then built into a choked laughs until it finally became a bought of hysterical giggles.

Jamie gripped Jack's feverish body, while he looked on in horrified confusion.

"It's okay," Jack gasped out when his laughter had calmed down a bit. "It's going to be okay."

"Don't say that," Jamie whispered. "Not when you're—"

"I'm not dying," Jack cut him off.

"You're not?"

Jack laughed again. "No. Pitch is going to be pissed off when he realizes this didn't work."

"Jack you're too hot. We need to get you to the North Pole or something. If we don't, you'll—"

"I already told ya. I'm not dying," Jack said, resolute. "I've died once, remember? I know what dying feels like. This isn't dying."

"Then what's happening?"

"I don't know."

Jamie looked annoyed now. Jack wanted to laugh again, but his earlier episode had taken a good chunk of strength out of him.

"I'm not dying," Jack repeated. "But I don't think I'll be around for a while either."

"How do you know all this if you don't know what's going on?" Jamie asked.

"Whatever that mark is… It's trying to destroy me, I think, but it can't touch this." Jack tapped his chest. A pulse of cold energy responded briefly before curling up into itself like a cat getting ready for a long nap.

"Your… heart?" Jamie said.

"No," Jack coughed. "My center. It's not for Pitch to take."

"Jack, I'm still not getting what you're saying."

"Don't worry. I don't get it either. Just… just know that I'll be okay. Believe me, Jamie," Jack murmured. His eyes were closing. His eyelids were too heavy now to keep open.

"Of course, I believe in you," Jamie said simply. There was no hesitation in his voice—only simple belief.

Jack smiled. He knew there was a reason he liked this guy so much.

"If you don't mind doing one more favor," Jack whispered. He coughed when even that short sentence was too much for his deteriorating vocal chords. Groaning, he weakly lifted his hand that still clutched his staff.

He was blind now, so he swung his hand around to where he thought Jamie was. A hand clasped his own. Jack wiggled his hand out from underneath the other one, and let go of his one true possession from this life and the last.

"I'll take care of it," Jack heard Jamie promise. "It'll be here when you need it."

Jack felt the cold in his chest coil into an even tighter ball and release something like a sigh of tired anticipation.

With that promise ringing in his ears, Jack let go, and he fell.

This time, the wind was not there to catch him.

* * *

**Present**

Jack was having a no good, very bad, awful day.

It had started at school where most of his problems seemed to be spawning from nowadays.

Jack was currently sitting in his math class. Nothing unusual about it except that behind Jack's bored expression, he was quietly stewing the tiny detail about him possibly being Jack Frost.

"Would you like the answer the question on the board, Jack?" his teacher asked pointedly, interrupting his silent identity crisis.

Jack raised his head groggily to stare uncomprehendingly at the math problem proudly displayed on the white board.

"Not really," Jack muttered. He had a bad night of sleepless tossing and turning and the occasional snippet of those weird dreams.

Unfortunately, the teacher seemed to have sharp ears today.

"Then why come to school at all, Mr. Bennett, if you are in such a disagreeable mood?" the teacher said.

"That is a very good question," Jack returned sardonically. He was pass caring. "Why make us learn things we don't care about?"

The teacher's mouth became a thin, unhappy line, while the rest of the class looked on in tense silence.

And that's were everything went wrong.

In his sleep-deprived, snarky state, Jack forgot his number one rule he had established for this past week: do not get overly emotional.

The flash of irrational anger came too quickly to be controlled, and Jack did not know he was doing until it was too late.

"I don't see the point of any of this!" Jack exclaimed even though he was no longer talking about math problems.

He slammed a hand down on the desk, and Jack narrowed his eyes in challenge as he saw the teacher ready a reprimand.

Before the teacher could utter a sound though, the girl behind Jack screamed and jumped out of her seat. Several other students near Jack shot up too with surprised cries, and Jack followed their example in confused numbness.

There was a few seconds of baffled mutterings before someone announced, "It's ice!"

Jack finally looked and saw the wall his desk was shoved up against was completely covered in ice. It took Jack a moment to realize that the wall was not the only thing covered in cold layer of whiteness.

The girl who had first screamed clutched at her arm and started sobbing. Her friends gathered around her and began examining her arm.

"The ice… I think she's got frostbite," one of the friends finally announced.

The teacher nodded to the door. "Get her to the nurse's office. Quickly now!"

The girl was ushered towards the door, while the students muttered disconcertedly.

"Where did the ice come from?"

"The window?"

"But it's closed."

"Is this someone's idea of a joke?"

Jack brought his arms up to his sides and realized his jacket was covered in frost. Looking over himself, Jack found himself relatively unharmed other then a shiver going through his body, but the girl on the other hand…

Jack could still hear the sobbing echoing down the hallway.

"Jack, are you okay?"

The Bennett boy jumped and stared dumbly at one of his classmates.

The boy with glasses noted Jack's frost-covered body in one glance and said, "Do you need to go the nurse too?"

"I—I think so," Jack stammered.

"Go then," the teacher ordered, her mind no longer on math problems. "Anyone else hurt?"

The students shook their heads.

"We will find out who is responsible," the teacher announced, her eyes narrowed dangerously. "I do not tolerate pranks of any kind."

Jack did not hear anything else as he fled out the door and ran down the hallway, the opposite direction from the nurse.

The music room would not be in use since all those classes were in the early morning. Jack ducked in quickly and found a dusty corner to collapse in. Bringing his knees up to his face, Jack curled up into a ball and shut out the rest of the world.

It was Kyle who eventually found him.

That was not much of a surprise since Kyle was the one who has known him the longest. The redhead poked his head into the music room, noted Jack huddled in the corner, and disappeared out the door only to come back a few minutes later with Christina and Karla in tow.

"Jack, we heard what happened," Christina murmured.

"I hurt someone," Jack spoke brokenly into his knees.

"I heard it wasn't too serious," Christina offered.

Jack tried to find comfort in that. He couldn't.

"No one knows it was you," Karla said, changing the subject. "Most people actually think it was Kyle even though he wasn't there."

"I'll take the blow for you, dude," Kyle joked half-heartedly.

Jack finally looked up at his friends. "It doesn't matter if they find out or not. I can't do this any more."

"What are you saying?" Christina asked, her eyes worried.

Jack nearly choked on his next words. "I think I'm going to go the Guardians. Have them help me figure this out. If it means I have to become Jack Frost, then fine. I can't live with hurting people, and that's what's going to keep happening if I stay."

None of his friends argued immediately, which told Jack two things. One, they did not completely disagree, and two, they did not have any better ideas.

Jack stood, and his friends followed suit. He released a heavy breath, and felt slightly better after it.

"That's it then," Jack said. "Guys, I want to—"

"Hold on," Kyle interrupted. His head was down when he began speaking. Something Jack did not recognize on Kyle flashed across his face, but before Jack could identify it, it was gone. When Kyle raised his head, his ridiculous grin was on his face again. "There's one thing we have to do first."

"And what's that?" Karla asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"There is going to be a four-person party at my house, and you're all invited!" Kyle proclaimed.

"_That_ is your great plan?" Karla spat.

"We can't! It's a weekday," Christina protested at the same time.

"Just say that we have a project," Kyle told Christina. "Say it's a really important project that requires you to spend a night at my house."

"And this helps the situation how?" Karla asked.

"It doesn't!" Kyle cried with an absurd amount of misplaced confidence.

"Kyle," Karla groaned.

"Are your parents home?" Christina asked, her brow furrowed with concern.

"Nah, Dad's got the night shift at the hospital, and Mom's out of town on business," Kyle said.

"I'm surprised they trust you not to blow anything up in their absence," Karla grumbled.

"Hey! I'm not that irresponsible," Kyle protested. "I do listen to that little voice inside my head on occasion. Come on, guys. Big house, no parents. It's going to be a blast."

"I'm with Karla," Jack said. "I don't see how this fixes anything."

"One night," Kyle announced, leveling a finger at Jack. "Come on, dude. You've been driving yourself crazy with this thing. Let's just have one night to slack off and forget and have one heck of a good time. Then we can help you figure out what to do or send you off or whatever."

The group was quiet for a moment as they waited for Jack to respond.

"Okay," Jack finally conceded with a brave smile. "Sounds like fun."

* * *

The ringing was incredibly annoying.

Jack groaned and rolled over in his sleeping bag, wishing for the ringing to stop.

After a full night of movies, junk food, and goofing off, Jack was exhausted. With all the excitement, Jack had forgotten to turn off his phone, and now in the middle of the night, Jack was paying the price for it.

"Shut up," Jack groaned uselessly.

The phone kept ringing.

"Jack," Kyle's muffled voice wailed. "Shut your stupid phone up before I throw it out the window."

The other teen rolled over and promptly went back to snoring.

Grumbling, Jack forced himself up and crawled to where he could see his screen glowing. James's name blinked up at him, and Jack groaned again as he went outside of Kyle's room to take the call.

"James, bud," Jack yawned into the phone. "What do you want at this hour?"

"I'm sorry. Did I wake you up from a nice dream, Frost?"

Jack froze, suddenly awake.

That was not James's voice. It was much too deep, and worst of all, Jack recognized it.

"Pitch," Jack hissed into the phone. "How did you get James's phone?"

"Oh, Jack," the voice purred from the other side of the phone. "You're asking all the wrong questions."

Jack's breath hitched in his throat, and he gripped the phone so hard its edges bit into his palm.

"What have you done with James?" Jack demanded.

"He's such a nice boy," Pitch said. "Innocent and young. It would be a shame if something happened to him."

Jack felt like throwing up.

"No, please don't touch him," Jack pleaded.

"Oh, I like that," Pitch chuckled. "Hearing you beg… I could get you used to that."

"Pitch," Jack said, wishing the man would get to the point.

"You like games, don't you Jack?"

Jack was silent.

"Well, here's one for you," Pitch said. "You know what I want. This boy is worth nothing to me, but everything to you. So you're going to meet me in the forest. It's simple really, but there's one very important rule: no Guardians."

Jack's mouth was dry, so it took a moment for him to answer.

"But the Guardians are watching me," Jack protested. "They might come whether I know it or not."

"Oh, I know. Just don't go out of your way to get them involved, and if they do approach you, tell them to keep their distance unless they want a child's blood on their hands."

"O—okay," Jack agreed. "Where in the forest?"

"It's a game of hide-and-seek, Jack. Find me."

"Wait no! That's not an answer," Jack shouted.

There was silence at the other end of the phone, and when Jack checked the screen, it said the call had ended.

"Pitch," Jack spat.

He raced into Kyle's room, grabbed his hoodie and shoes, and sprinted out of the house.

It did not take long for a certain rabbit to show up.

"What's the hurry, Frost?" Bunny asked. "Are midnight runs your normal routine?"

"Pitch has James," Jack gasped between breaths.

"Wha—That bloody—Where is he holding him?"

Jack shook his head. "You can't come. Pitch was very clear that if any Guardian showed up, he would kill James."

"So you're just going to run into the bloody pot like a headless chicken?" Bunny shouted.

"Well, I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Jack yelled back. "I'm not letting James get hurt because of me. Now you need to go."

The rabbit looked like he was going to argue, but he swallowed whatever was on his mind and disappeared. Jack was not sure if the rabbit was gone for good, but he kind of doubted it. Despite the danger of the situation, knowing that the rabbit was close made him a little braver.

Finally, Jack reached the edge of the forest. Jack peered into the darkness of interlaced trees and underbrush.

Trepidation filled Jack and nearly stole his breath away.

Shaking his head as if to rid himself of those thoughts, Jack took a deep breath and entered the forest.

The forest was much different in the dark.

Jack remembered once when he was much younger, he had lost track of time and lost his way in the dark maze of trees. The darkness was as oppressive now as it had been then, and every sound seemed amplified by the fear in Jack's mind.

He flinched away from the sound of his own feet stepping on twigs, and even the slightest twitch of the underbrush stopped Jack's heart stone cold.

Jack forged ahead with thoughts of James filling his mind.

Carefully, Jack navigated the woods, keeping his eyes and ears open to anything that might tell him where the Boogeyman and his brother were.

A twig snapped just to Jack's left. The teenager paused, and when the sound did not come again, Jack was ready to dismiss it as a wild animal until the whole underbrush starting moving… and cussing?

"Stupid nature," a familiar voice grumbled. "Stupid nature in my shoe, stupid nature poking me in the side, stupid nature tripping me up."

"Kyle," Jack hissed into the darkness.

The muttering stopped for a moment, and crunching sounds could be heard making their way towards Jack.

Not one but three heads appeared from the shadows.

"What are you guys doing here?" Jack asked his three friends.

"Could ask the same to you too, Bennett," Karla muttered, tugging her jacket tight around her body.

"You owe us an explanation," Kyle demanded.

"It's cold. Can we do this elsewhere? Like inside?" Christina whispered.

Jack tried to rein in his frustration. He could hardly blame his friends for following him; his actions were suspicious after all, but he did not have time for this!

"Someone took James, and he want me to meet him in the forest," Jack summed up quickly. "You need to get out of here."

"What?" Karla shouted, forgoing all tactfulness. "What creeper would do that?"

"Shouldn't you call the police, Jack?" Christina suggested. "I don't think it's very smart to go into the woods to meet a kidnapper."

"I would, but it's more complicated than that," Jack murmured.

"Why would it—" Christina's eyes drifted to Jack's side, and her eyes darkened with understanding. "Oh," she said softly.

Karla seemed to catch on to what Christina had put together, and her mouth became a thin, disapproving line.

Kyle on the other hand…

"What?" he shouted, feeling left out.

"Where's that genius brain of yours?" Karla snorted. "Who attacked Jack?"

"The Boogeyman doesn't exist," Kyle said in all seriousness.

"Then who do you think attacked Jack?" Christina asked.

"Look," Kyle said with a sigh. "I didn't want to tell you until tomorrow or… yeah… but I think this is all in your head, dude."

Kyle gave Jack a sympathetic look, but Jack barely noticed it as his ears filled with a ringing sound, and his vision blurred without warning.

Jack looked over at Christina and Karla. His breaths were starting to come in short gasps.

Kyle thought… He thought…

Karla looked about two seconds away from pummeling Kyle into the ground, while Christina looked on with a sort horror in her eyes. The looks on his two female friends' faces should have reassured Jack, but he could not feel anything beyond the betrayal building in his gut.

Kyle thought…

"You think I'm crazy," Jack whispered.

Jack took an involuntary step backwards away from the other teen.

Kyle looked torn. He raised a hand towards Jack, but it hesitated as if unsure what to do with itself. Kyle instead balled it into a fist and let it fall to his side.

"He's not saying that," Karla growled. She shot Kyle a look that said, _You better not be saying that._

Shaking his head, Kyle said, "Jack, I don't deny that something weird is going on with you. You got some powers, yes, but being Jack Frost? Meeting Santa Claus and the rest? They don't exist. You're mind's making up things to help you cope."

"My injuries?" Jack asked. "James's abduction?"

"It's all just building on each other. I've read about it before… The mind is capable of making up entire stories for people," Kyle said. "Jack, you need—"

Kyle did not the chance to finish as Jack's fist connected with his face, knocking him backwards and onto the ground.

The four teens stilled in stunned, heavy silence. Kyle brought a hand up to his cheek, his expression shocked as if he could not believe what Jack had just done. Jack looked equally shocked and betrayed.

"Ow," Jack eventually muttered. He shook his hand and rubbed his aching knuckles.

"I believe that's my line," Kyle groaned, rubbing his cheek.

Jack gave the other boy a long hard look before declaring, "I'm wasting time. I'm out of here."

With that said, Jack turned his back to his friends and started out into the forest again.

"Wait! No." Kyle stumbled towards Jack, but stopped just short of a few steps from him. "I believe that it's very real for you—that you truly believe what you say—but you can't go chasing after it. We can call the police. Don't… Don't do this. We'll call the police, and let them deal with this."

Jack's anger was slowly cooling. He looked back at his friend, seeing the worry in the other's eyes. Kyle had grown up in a world of science and facts, while Jack inherited the Bennett imagination and wild fantasies; for a moment, Jack could see Kyle's side. Too bad Jack was just as stubborn as Kyle was in his beliefs.

Jack shook his head and continued his trek towards the lake.

"Jack, I'm scared for you," Kyle called after him.

He would have left it at that. Jack would have kept walking without a second glance backwards, but he heard Christina yelp. Jack twisted around, his instinct to protect rearing up.

It was hard to make out what was really going on, but from where Jack was standing, it looked as if the shadows from the trees had extended and wrapped themselves around Christina's ankles.

Looking from one face to another, Jack could tell that all his friends were seeing something terrifying, but based on Kyle's little confession, he could not be sure that what they saw was the same thing he was seeing.

A laugh echoed through the trees and seemed to make them tremble.

"I'm scared," a voice mimicked Kyle's.

Jack grit his teeth. He knew that voice of course.

"Pitch!" Jack yelled out. "Where's James?"

The voice laughed again. "Would you like to see him? That can be arranged."

Christina yelled again as the darkness around her ankles swelled and swallowed up more of her body. Karla raced towards her friend, intent on helping, but as soon as her feet touched the darkness, she stuck fast as if it were tar.

Jack's eyes widened as he realized the darkness was bearing down on all four of them.

"No!" Jack yelled. "Leave them alone! Don't—"

That was all Jack got out before the darkness engulfed him.

* * *

**Just in case you were curious (because I thought this all out, but did not really have room to stick it in the actual story), Kyle thinks Jack has something along the lines of schizophrenia. I'm thinking of something similar to the story of **_**A Beautiful Mind **_**(a wonderful movie that I highly recommend if you want something that will blow your mind and hit you in the feels as well).**

**Thank you for all your reviews! It blows my mind every time I see how many of you people leave such lovely notes. I'll be answering reviews tomorrow (hopefully), so sit tight. **

**Answers to anonymous reviews: **

**Guest: **Some great speculations, but I'm neither confirming nor denying any of them. Thanks for the review!

**WEast: **I'm glad you like little James' fun scene. He's such a sweetheart in my head, and so fun to write. You might be right… maybe… maybe not… You'll just have to wait and see. Thanks!

**Devil angel: **And again, thank so much for always dropping a review!

**Regality: **Haha I never really saw them as a ship. I'm glad you like Christina so much (she is sweet, isn't she?), but just a warning, I'm not much of a romance writer… Thanks for the review!

**ArcAngelCrystal: **Aww, thanks so much! It's always exciting to get new readers. :)

**~playing-in-the-mud**


	10. Chapter 10: Big Brothers

**Chapter 10 – Why Big Brothers are Born First**

* * *

_**Previously**_

_Jack's eyes widened as he realized the darkness was bearing down on all four of them. _

"_No!" Jack yelled. "Leave them alone! Don't—"_

_That was all Jack got out before the darkness engulfed him._

* * *

**17 years in the past**

"No. No, no, no," the man ranted at the object in front of him.

Pitch stalked around the globe, glaring at the little lights that shone out at him in mockery.

"Jack should be dead by now," Pitch growled. "And with his death… The children should have stopped believing in him. Why do they still believe in him?"

Turning away from the globe, Pitch glared at the scroll spread out on a stone table. Pitch scanned the contents of the scroll, which had been meticulously copied from an ancient tome.

It was the fifth time Pitch had reread the scroll since his battle with Jack almost three days ago.

Pitch had felt vaguely annoyed when Jack's belief had not vanished by the end of that first day. By the second day, Pitch was concerned. By the third, Pitch was furious.

"It was perfect," Pitch snarled at the scroll. "I did everything right. So why do the children still believe in him?"

A sharp whiney echoed off the stone walls of his lair, and a herd of nightmares stormed into his main hall.

The lead mare trotted up to Pitch.

The Nightmare King did not miss the way it would not meet his eyes and skittered nervously.

"Well?" Pitch demanded. "Any sign of Jack?"

The mare shook its mane.

No.

"What about a sign of his passing? He should have left something behind."

The mare hesitated before shaking its mane again.

Pitch roared in frustration and slashed a hand through the nightmare, dissipating its essence.

The other nightmares screamed their rage and fear as they felt their master's unrest.

Pitch turned back to the globe.

"Where are you, Jack?" Pitch growled.

A flicker caught Pitch's attention, and the man frowned as he narrowed his eyes at the globe. It happened again.

Lights—particularly lights in the northern regions—winked on and off as if they were malfunctioning.

They did it once more before they stabilized and shone like nothing had happened, but Pitch had seen it, and it had been there.

"What was that?" Pitch asked the nearest nightmare.

The nightmare whinnied a nervous answer.

Storms. Out-of-control storms were appearing at random around the world.

"Interesting," Pitch mused. "So I'm not the only one who cannot find the frost child."

The nightmares shifted nervously as Pitch silently contemplated this new piece of information.

Suddenly, a disturbing smile broke over Pitch's face. It was crazy and crooked as if his face was not used to accommodating such an expression.

"Interesting," Pitch repeated. "Perhaps I can just wait this one out. Jack will show his face one day, and I'll be more than ready this time around."

* * *

**Present**

The darkness slipped away from his body like oil. It dissipated quickly, but Jack felt as though its touch had tainted his body.

Looking around, Jack easily picked out his friends all unharmed and rubbing at their skin as if they too felt violated by the darkness. They were in some sort of clearing, not anywhere Jack could really recognize although in this darkness it was hard to tell.

Jack was the first to get to his feet, and a dark figure appeared before him.

"I'm here," Jack announced. "I'm the one you want. Let James go."

The Nightmare King was not looking at Jack though; he did not even give any indication that he had even heard Jack.

Pitch stepped around Jack towards his three friends that still were huddled on the ground in a daze.

"No, don't!" Jack tried to grab the Nightmare King, but his hand passed through the man as if he were made of smoke.

Christina and Karla had recovered enough to notice the man's approach. They both shot to their feet and scrambled away from his cold presence. Kyle was not so lucky.

Faster than a snake, Pitch's hand shot out and grabbed Kyle by the front of his jacket, roughly hauling him to his feet.

"Kyle!" Christina screamed. She took a step forward as if to charge the dark man, but something dark shot towards her, and she shied away from it as it formed into a snarling form of a nightmarish horse.

The Nightmare King had barely glanced at her.

His golden eyes were instead fixed on Kyle.

"Still doubtful, child?" Pitch asked Kyle. "You can see me now, can't you? Well, here I am. The Boogeyman in the flesh."

With the last word, Pitch threw Kyle to the ground.

Kyle cried out in pain, but his eyes remained fixed on the dark man in an incredulous wide-eyed stare.

Pitch's gaze swept over the assembled teenagers, and he grinned coldly.

"Teenagers who believe," Pitch mused. "I never thought I would see that day."

"I don't believe in the Boogeyman," Kyle snapped although his voice quavered.

The Nightmare King seemed unaffected by Kyle's little rebellious spat and just pinned the downed teen with an unreadable look.

"Everyone _knows _fear," Pitch said finally.

A mad glint gleamed in Pitch's eyes, and the man laughed, insanity flitting at the edges of its harsh sound.

A scream echoed Pitch's laugh, which was soon followed by another. Out of the woods horses made of sand appeared, pawing the ground impatiently and eying the teens hungrily.

"Even adults are not immune to my nightmares," Pitch announced as a horse came trotting up to him. He stroked its neck. "You may not believe in me, but I am here."

Pitch struck the horse's rear, extracting a scream from the creature. The nightmare charged, its eyes glowing with senseless hunger.

Before anyone else could react, the horse fell onto Kyle's prone figure, and its body dissolved into a blizzard of deadly shards.

Kyle screamed as the sand tore at his clothes and exposed skin. He swatted uselessly at the swirling mass. His eyes went dark as they focused instead on some horrible world only he could see.

"No!"

Without thinking, Jack rushed forward into the miniature storm. Jack braced himself for the cutting pain of the small sandstorm, but it never came.

Whenever the sand came close to Jack, it bounced away as if some sort of force field surrounded him.

Not knowing if this was some sort of fluke or not, Jack grabbed wildly for Kyle and heaved the other boy out of the storm by the tattered remains of his jacket.

Kyle stumbled towards Jack like a dying man towards his last drink of water, and Jack found him supporting Kyle's entire weight.

Grunting, Jack swung the other boy around and pushed him towards Karla and Christina and away from danger. The black sandstorm did not follow, seeing that Jack now stood between it and his friends with his arms stretched out wide.

"How brave," Pitch grumbled in disappointment as if someone had just changed the channel from his favorite MMA show.

"Leave them out of this, Pitch," Jack growled out, his arms still upraised.

Behind him, Kyle was mumbling something in a daze. "Sorry, sorry, sorry."

The sandstorm had reassembled itself into a horse and now stood beside its master again. Its nostrils flared, and it gave a sharp whinny.

"It's rude to interrupt a nightmare's meal," Pitch stated as his eyes bore into Jack's.

"It's rude to ignore me when you're the one who called me here," Jack snapped back. "Where's James?"

"Quit your yelling, boy," Pitch sneered.

"Pitch," Jack growled in warning. He bawled up his fists as if preparing for a fight.

Pitch sighed in annoyance. "Oh, please. None of that now. You present no threat to me in your current condition."

The dark man waved a hand towards a group of nightmares. They swirled until a boy dropped out of their miniature twister.

"James!" Jack cried, taking a step towards his brother.

The nightmare next to Pitch whinnied and stomped its hooves.

Jack hesitated in his approach. James looked relatively unharmed, but the small twister still loomed nearby, and Jack knew his brother's condition could change in seconds.

"Jack?" James looked up at his older brother. Wisely, he stayed hunched on the ground. "What's going on?"

"It's going to be okay, bud," Jack reassured the boy. "Trust me. This will all over soon."

Despite the danger, James nodded his head with belief in his eyes.

"Okay," Jack said in the most agreeable tone he could muster. He looked back towards the Boogeyman. "My friends can take James, and I'll stay here with you. Just let them all go. They have nothing to do with any of this."

"Jack, no!" the voices of both his friends and his brother protested.

"Sorry," Kyle mumbled again.

"Oh, I would say they have everything to do with this," Pitch said.

"We had a deal. My life for James!" Jack wanted to throttle the guy, but he really wasn't in a position to take such liberal actions.

"Did you get that in writing?" Pitch asked. "Every good lawyer knows that things like this needs to be put into writing for… insurance."

"Pitch! Let my brother go! I will—"

"Do what?" Pitch smirked. "You're not in a position to negotiate."

To accentuate his point, the nightmare by Pitch's side whinnied although it sounded more like a scream.

James cried out and slammed his palms over his ears.

Jack looked helplessly from Pitch to James. A nightmare by Pitch's side, a twister by James, and who knows how many more black beasts forming a half-circle behind Pitch.

The teen was just about to succumb to his feeling of helplessness when a movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Trying not to bring too much attention to it, Jack glanced over to where he thought he had seen the movement, and two green eyes stared back at him.

Jack had never felt so relieved to see that overgrown rabbit, and he could have sworn he had seen a flash of a red coat ducking behind one of the bushes and an iridescent wing catch the light of the moon.

Bunny blinked once before he turned his gaze to where James was still under the mercy of the swirling nightmares.

The rabbit could get James out of harms way; Jack was sure of it. He just needed a distraction…

Jack relaxed his hands as he suddenly realized what he needed to do in order to ensure James's survival. His whole body filled with dread at the thought, but Jack could not waste any more time with coming up with a better idea.

Focusing on the cold spot in his chest that he had been trying to suppress for these past few days, Jack let it uncurl. He clenched his teeth as it filled his body with a biting cold as well as a rush of barely controlled power.

For the first time in days, Jack felt truly alive despite the pain crawling up his spine.

"You won't touch my brother," Jack said, more calmly than he felt. "You will not hurt him. You can't have him!"

Shouting out the last sentence, Jack thrust out his hands towards Pitch, and the effect was immediate. One blast caught Pitch and the nightmare at his side in an avalanche of ice, and the other flew past the man towards James. The second blast swirled into a small blizzard that attacked Pitch's sandstorm and neutralized its destructive winds.

The Guardians exploded from their hiding places. Bunny went straight for James and threw his body over the boy's. The Fairy Queen was a heartbeat behind the rabbit and slashed through the remains of the black sandstorm with twin scimitars. When she turned around to face Pitch, her purple eyes flashed in challenged as she protected the boy and rabbit. North and Sandy appeared at opposite ends of the clearing and began cutting down nightmares left and right.

Ice shattered next to Jack, and Pitch emerged from his temporary ice cage. He narrowed his eyes as he took in the action around him and murmured commands to the nearest nightmares. The next thing Jack knew, nightmares were streaming into the clearing, hungry for battle.

"Here take your brother," a voice said roughly.

Jack turned to see both Bunny and Tooth at his side. Bunny shoved James toward Jack, while Tooth still warded off attacks with her swords.

"James!" Jack cried with relief, scooping up his brother in a tight embrace.

"Jack! I'm fine!" James protested although his body shook under his brother's hug.

"Get out of here," Bunny commanded. His eyes flickered from Jack to behind him where his teenage friends huddled together. "Get them all out of here, Jack. The Guardians will take care of this."

"Bunny, look out!" Tooth called.

A nightmare slipped pass Tooth and charged at the rabbit. The warrior rabbit barely got his boomerangs up in time to block a blow, but his was pushed back a couple feet away from Jack.

"Bunny!" Jack cried. He took a step forward, his hand outstretched as if to help him.

"No!" the rabbit yelled back. "Don't get close! Get away!"

Someone grabbed him, and Jack was suddenly staring into green eyes except they were not the rabbit's.

"Jack, run!" Kyle said. The other teenage boy looked a little scratched up, but his green eyes were clear again and so piercing it jolted Jack into action.

He grabbed his brother's hand and called out to the girls before he took off running in some random direction.

Jack kept running until the sounds of fighting faded behind them, and then he slowed to a brisk walk to allow James to catch his breath.

"Are you all right, James?" Jack asked.

"I'm fine," James said.

The teenager frowned. "You were abducted by the Boogeyman. I hardly think you're fine."

James huffed in annoyance at his brother's pestering. "Well, I'll survive. He's really not that scary."

The boy was lying. Jack could see him shaking all over.

Instead of pushing the matter, Jack squeezed James's shoulder and left his hand there.

"Why is he after us?" James asked after a moment of contemplative silence.

Jack grimaced. "He thinks I did something to him in the past. It's complicated, and even I don't get it all. I'll try and explain it when we get out of here."

James nodded, content with that answer, and gradually, his trembling died away.

Squeezing his brother's shoulder again, Jack thought of how much he did not deserve such a trusting and brave brother.

"Jack," a small voice said off to his side.

Jack turned his head to look at the speaker and was surprised to find that it was Kyle who had spoken. In all his life, he could not remember Kyle looking so unsure and vulnerable.

"You okay?" Jack asked.

Kyle shook his head as if Jack's question disturbed him.

"How can you be so casual, dude?"

"About Pitch? Remember; it's not the first time I've faced him."

Kyle let out a noise that sounded half-exasperated and half-ashamed. "Not that. About us? I just… I just called you crazy. I questioned your sanity. And here you are all chill. I'm surprised you're still talking to me at all."

Jack was silent for a moment before responding, "If that was an apology, that sucked."

Kyle gave a weak laugh. "Okay, well then, I'm really sorry. Like you don't even know."

"Apology accepted," Jack replied immediately.

"What the heck!" Kyle exclaimed, running both hand through his hair. "It's not supposed to be that easy!"

"What? Do you want me to be mad?"

"No, but… I don't know…"

Jack sighed. "Okay, yes, I'm still kind of mad at you, but we've been friends since like ever. I can't believe that you would out of the blue say stuff to me like that unless you were really concerned for me. I get it, Kyle. You really thought I was in trouble psychologically and wanted to help out. Am I right?"

Kyle nodded sheepishly.

"Well, okay then," Jack said. "I would appreciate a little more faith in the future, but that's that except I might punch you again later just for good measure."

"Fine," Kyle said. "I think I could live with that."

The two older boys shared a look. The discussion was not done; they both knew that, but it would have to do for now since they still were not out of the woods yet—literally.

They stumbled around in the thick underbrush until it eventually thinned out into another clearing. Jack looked out over the space and relaxed a tiny bit in its familiarity.

"Where are we?" Christina spoke up.

"It's the pond," Jack said. "I used to come here a lot when I was little. I can get us out of the forest from here."

Jack started towards the direction of the exit. Hope was just beginning to warm his chest, but suddenly, something dark reared up from the shadows.

Christina gave a sharp scream of surprise as the shadows solidified.

Pitch stood before the group of children with nightmares streaming out behind him.

"Going somewhere?" the Nightmare King asked.

Jack herded his friends and brother away from the darkness.

"The Guardians took care of you," Jack said as if to deny the dark man's presence.

"Oh, please," Pitch snorted. "These past years have been deliciously full of fear what with the Wind bringing its terrifying storms. I have your current state to thank for that, but the Guardians won't be joining this particular party. My nightmares have not been this strong since well…"

Pitch trailed off and eyed Jack as something dark flashed across his golden eyes.

"And we are only going to get stronger from here on out," Pitch announced. "I wonder how much terror the Wind will bring once I dump its winter child's body before it."

"Guys get back!" Jack managed to yell before Pitch moved with a weapon materializing in his hands.

Jack struck first, surprising both sides.

Ice shot out of his hands, freezing the first row of horses, but Pitch deflected any cold that came near him with a flick of a wrist.

The dark scythe went up, and Jack dodged to the left. Rolling with the momentum, Jack came up and shot ice at Pitch's exposed side. It hit Jack's target, and he was just about to feel proud of himself when Pitch brushed off the frost like it was nothing.

"Weak," Pitch taunted. "You're not even half the person Jack Frost was."

Jack gritted his teeth and mustered up whatever energy he could. Cold, he had to think cold. With a yell, Jack released another attack, and this one definitely had more power behind it, but Jack did not have time to enjoy its results.

As soon as the ice left his hands, his breath froze up in his lungs, and all his muscles screamed in protest at this foreign magic. The boy fell into the snow, shivering and coughing up mist.

Something wet hit the ground, and when Jack's vision focused again, he realized he was spitting up his own blood.

"Something wrong, boy?" Pitch stood over him, looking a little chilled, but not at all cowed. He grinned maliciously. "Don't play with winter's powers. You'll end up getting burned."

A foot flashed out, and Jack felt himself being kicked across the clearing. Someone screamed. Maybe it was him.

The crunching of snow alerted Jack that Pitch was coming, and the boy forced himself to stand and face his attacker just as the weapon came towards him.

Jack ducked the swing of the scythe's blade, but something (later he would realize it was the butt end of the scythe) slammed into his stomach and sent the teen flying.

Jack landed hard on the ground, and something beneath him went crunch. The teen tried to stand, but his feet slipped beneath him. His eyes widened as he finally realized that he had landed in the middle of the frozen lake.

Fear closed his throat and froze his limbs. A phobia of water he had never been able to explain rose to the surface.

"I think it's quite poetic that we come here again where you had humiliated me," the Nightmare King said still on the edge of the lake. "The last thing you will know is fear."

Jack gasped, trying to spit back some sort of retort, but the terror was overwhelming. Just below the ice, water churned, cold and deadly. He needed to get up—to run away. His voice instead made a choked scream.

"What's wrong, Jack?" Pitch sneered. "Afraid of a little water."

The man swung his scythe around and dragged it across the lake's frozen surface.

Jack could only watch in horror as a spider-web of cracks appeared, racing their way to where he crouched in a paralyzed daze.

"Jack!" James called.

"Move, Jack!" Karla screamed at him. She swung at a nightmare that got too close with a fallen branch, and the horse snarled at her.

"Leave him alone," James shouted at the Nightmare King. "My big brother isn't afraid of anything, least of all you."

"Such bravery," Pitch sighed as if disappointed. "Unlucky for you boy, you remind me too much of a certain thorn in my side. I'd like to see you dead."

Pitch turned towards the trapped group of children, and the horses around them pawed the ground eagerly.

Jack's mind cleared for a moment, and he managed to stand.

"Hey! It's me you want!" Jack yelled. "Don't you dare turn your back to me."

His yelling caught Pitch's attention, and the man looked over his shoulder as if Jack's words meant something to him.

"You're right," Pitch murmured, his eyes glowing with his sadistic power. "I won't make that mistake again."

Pitch snapped back around to face Jack, something flashed in his free hand, and suddenly Jack found himself on his knees again.

His whole body shuddered, his chest feeling heavy.

Someone screamed, and it echoed around the clearing as the rest of the noise seemed to stop.

Jack looked down, and his vision blurred, but not before he saw the dagger hilt of solidified black sand sticking out of her chest. Jack fell forward, but somehow his left hand stopped him from hitting the ice. His right hand came up to touch the hilt as if to confirm it was really there.

Strangely enough, he felt numb except for burning in his hands.

His mind whirled, trying to come up with some desperate solution. Did it hit anything vital? Was his heart still beating? You're supposed to leave weapons in the wound in or else you bleed to death, right?

More screams joined to first, but it was distant and unimportant.

A breeze brushed his cheek and rustled through his hair.

His hair was white again. When had that happened?

The place where his hand touched the ice was mended of all its cracks that the Nightmare King had previously made. It was so clean and clear like glass, Jack thought.

He was sure that he could make out the bottom of the lake.

Then the voice came.

_Look._

Jack's hand burned like it always did when he used his powers. Stupid, he was not supposed to use his powers.

_Look._

Jack focused back on the ice, and the bottom of the lake that he could see below that.

He _was_ looking.

_Look._

Jack squinted and made out a long, dark shape. Straight and strong, except for the bend at one end.

Strange, Jack had never seen such a thing, but it filled him with a sense of home.

_I have protected it for you._

He was dying, Jack knew. Hearing voices and seeing bright lights meant you were dying, right? He felt strangely calm.

_Claim it, my winter child._

It was his. He stared at the dark object at the bottom of the lake and was thrilled that it was his.

_Ride on my currents once more._

Jack frowned. He was dying, his right hand tightened on the hilt of the dagger still stuck in his chest.

_Claim it!_

The trees danced wildly as the wind began to howl.

_Quiet, _Jack thought.

The trees ceased their movement, and the voice did not come again.

There was something important… He'd forgotten. What had been so important?

_Remember Jamie._

Jack was suddenly years younger, walking hand in hand with an older man.

The elderly man smiled at him, and they arrived at this very lake.

The man had… he had…

_Heart._

His heart had been stabbed; it was bleeding. No… it was _missing. _Where was his heart?

…_beneath the ice._

A young voice sobbed brokenly and cut through Jack's blurry memories.

"Jack, Jack! Get up! Please," James begged, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Jack looked up, his vision going in and out of focus.

An impatient nightmare snapped at James, and the boy flinched away from the teeth, crying out. Jack's brow furrowed in confusion.

Jack was the big brother. He was supposed protect.

"I have tired of your interference and blubbering, child," a dark voice said. "It's about time I finished off the remains of Jamie's legacy."

A black figure loomed over James and Jack's friends, and James cowered away.

"No!" Jack screamed.

His right hand moved on its own accord, ripping the dagger from his chest and freezing it at the same time.

Suddenly, Jack could feel all the pain he was supposed to be feeling, and it was as if lightning was coursing through his entire body.

"Help me, Jamie," Jack whispered desperately.

Jack almost blacked out right there as a pool of red collected beneath him, but with his last shred of strength, Jack slammed the dagger straight down into the surface of the frozen lake.

The ground beneath him shattered like glass, and Jack fell.

* * *

**Other reviews shall be answered probably next week because I'll be traveling again this weekend.**

**Answers to anonymous reviews: **

**JFunderburker: **Your wondering shall be put to rest in about two chapters… Thanks for the review

**Bonca: **Here's your update! And thanks for the review :)

**Devil Angel: **This past chapter is as gory as it's going to really get. There is one more sort of scarier chapter (but not too much). Thanks for another review!

**Pippalina: **Bwahaha another cliffhanger because I can. Thanks for the review!

**ArcAngelCrystal**: Thanks so much! And your reviews make me smile :D

**~playing-in-the-mud**


	11. Chapter 11: To Make Right

**Chapter 11 – To Make Right**

* * *

_**Previously**_

_A black figure loomed over James and the Jack's friends, and James cowered away._

"_No!" Jack screamed._

_His right hand moved on its own accord, ripping the dagger from his chest and freezing it at the same time._

_Jack almost blacked out right there as a pool of red collected beneath him, but with his last shreds of strength, Jack slammed the dagger straight down into the surface of the frozen lake._

_Its surface shattered like glass, and Jack fell._

* * *

**17 years in the past**

Jamie paced the length of his study.

The room was enveloped in shadows, which was fine with Jamie since he did not feel in the mood for any sort of cheer.

Papers were strewn across his desk, stacks of books lay in unorganized stacks, and folders were left unfiled. Jamie could not bring himself to care.

It had been months.

Months since Jack…

Jamie glanced at the wooden staff that sat propped against his desk.

No, Jack was not dead.

Jack had promised Jamie he was not dying, and Jamie trusted Jack.

Even after watching his best friend fade in his very own arms, Jamie had faith in Jack.

_Wait, _a quiet voice in his heart whispered. _Wait. _

And so Jamie did, but for what, he did not know, and it was driving him mad.

For the few months, Jamie had tried to contact the other Guardians with no luck.

Back when Jamie was heading off to college, the Guardians had visited him one last time. They had thanked him, but had firmly declared they could no longer see him. Jamie was at the cusp of adulthood, and they were the Guardians of _Childhood. _Jamie understood that, and never held it against them.

So with a certain degree of sorrow and finality, Jamie cut all ties with the Guardians.

Of course, there had been one exception that had presented itself as a snowball to the face during a certain study time for his midterms. Jack had never been much of a rule follower after all.

Jamie never asked Jack if the other Guardians knew Jack was still visited his one and only adult believer, and Jack never brought it up.

Now, Jamie regretted the conversations they never had, for perhaps Jack could have told him how to contact the Guardians in case… well, in case of something like this.

Jamie was not sure if the Guardians had noticed Jack's absence yet, but he knew for certain that they had not tried to contact him.

As far as Jamie could figure, his best way of communicating with the Guardians would be to find a tooth fairy, but Jamie would need a tooth for that. Even Jamie's youngest grandchild was way past the age to be losing teeth, and Jamie could not very well be asking random children for teeth.

Jamie had spent the last week with many late nights trying to catch a glimpse of a tooth fairy or even the Sandman, but it had been to no avail.

"I don't know what to do, Jack," Jamie told the wooden staff.

The staff looked so lifeless out of Jack's hand and made Jamie's heart ache.

A knock sounded at the door.

"Jamie?"

The old man sighed and opened his office door.

"Yes?" Jamie looked down at his wife.

She smiled widely at him.

"Jason and Andrea. Their baby was born last night."

A spark of life warmed Jamie's tired body at the names of his grandson and his wife.

"Our…" Jamie murmured.

"Our first great-grandchild," his wife confirmed. She squeezed his arm. "Come on, old man. Let's go meet the new addition to the Bennett family."

Jamie felt momentarily guilty for leaving Jack's staff unattended in his study, but it was a fleeting thought that was overshadowed by the news of a new life.

Not even an hour later, Jamie and his wife stood in a hospital room, and Jamie's whole body buzzed with excitement.

"Jason," Jamie greeted the man standing at the bedside.

The man turned around a grinned broadly at his grandfather, but Jamie only had eyes for the little bundle in the man's arms.

Jason noticed his grandfather's distraction and invited the older couple closer with a shake of his head.

Jamie's wife immediately rushed to Andrea's side and fussed over the covers.

"Hi, Grandpa J. We were just discussing names," Jason told Jamie.

Surprised, Jamie asked, "You haven't decided yet?"

Jason laughed and shot a teasing grin at his wife. "We're having… creative differences."

Jamie held out his arms. "May I?"

The new father only hesitated for a second before handing over the newborn.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Andrea murmured from the bed.

"He's perfect," Jamie assured her as he pulled back the blanket from the child's face.

The movement caught the baby's attention, and he turned sharp brown eyes towards his great-grandfather.

Jamie almost frowned at that. He had never seen a newborn with such a focused gaze.

The baby seemed to study the old man for a moment before he did something that definitely shocked the new great-grandfather.

He laughed.

Jamie's eyes widened at the giggling infant.

The nurse in the room paused in her work, her head turning the sound.

"Funny," she said. "In all my years of work, I've never heard a newborn laugh."

Jamie nodded numbly as if he was paying attention to the nurse, but his shock was not because the child had laughed. It was because he _knew _that laugh.

As if the infant knew what Jamie was thinking, the child let out another round of laughter.

Jamie felt something melt inside of him, and all the stress of the past week disappeared.

It started off as a low chuckle, then morphed into stifled giggles, and then finally became jolly laughter that would have made Santa Claus jealous. Jamie laughed with his newborn great-grandchild because it was just too _funny._

"Well, you sure know how to make a new father envious, Grandpa J," Jason said with a mock pout.

Jamie nodded, but really the other people were now all distant figures. He only had eyes for the infant in arms.

The old man ran a gentle finger over the newborn's cheek.

"What great irony it is that you are born in the summer," he whispered to the child.

"What was that?" Jason asked.

"Nothing," Jamie said quickly.

He grinned at the new father and mother.

"I know the child's name," he declared.

* * *

**Present**

It was dark.

Jack thrashed in the cold, but he did not feel himself going anywhere.

He was weightless, suspended in a space of timelessness and void.

He remembered bringing the dagger down on the lake's frozen surface, but he could not remember why he had. It must have been important if he intentionally plunged himself into this darkness.

He could not breathe. Jack tried to scream, but opening his mouth was a mistake as a dark something rushed into his mouth and choked him.

Jack tried to cough out the substance, but there was no air to help him force it out.

Suddenly, he had weight again, and he was sinking.

He hit the ground. Or at least, he thought it was the ground.

He could feel the dirt under his fingers and stones scraping across his skin, but it was so cold, and he soon lost those feelings too.

Why did he come here again?

It was so dark. He could not imagine any reason for him to want to come here willingly. He curled up as best as his numb body could and resigned himself to this darkness as the last of his breath was squeezed out of him.

_Jack!_

The boy looked up and blinked, not believing what he saw.

A sliver of silver light pierced the darkness, and Jack stared in amazement as it expanded and solidified into a small figure.

He could breathe again. They were harsh and thick breaths, but at least he had air.

"Who… who are you?" Jack asked the figure.

The girl did not answer. Instead she walked to the side and picked up the thing Jack had noticed before.

"Isn't this yours?" she finally spoke.

It was the stick that Jack had seen underneath the ice.

"I don't know," Jack answered.

She offered the stick to Jack and smiled.

Being made of moonlight, she had no colorization, but Jack somehow knew her eyes and hair were as brown as his.

"I know you," Jack said, almost as a question.

"Do you?" she asked.

She was a boy. Jack blinked in confusion because he had not seen any change happen. Had the girl always been a boy?

"I do know you," Jack decided even though he could not place a name.

The boy looked like James except he was not Jack's brother, yet the sight of him filled Jack with the same brotherly love.

"I see you, Jack," the boy murmured with a smile. "I believe."

The boy's visage shifted and he grew older and feathered.

This person Jack knew for sure. It was the Tooth Fairy.

"Come home," the queen said, still offering Jack the stick.

The moonlight shifted again, and Jack saw each one of the Guardians, extending the stick towards him and bidding him to come with their eyes.

A final figure appeared from the light. Jack knew he had never seen this man's face before, but he felt a sense of familiarity wash over him.

He had a round, kind face that looked both young and old at the same time. He was dressed in fine clothes, and where the other images had looked like they were made of moonlight, this man shone as if he were the moon himself.

Unlike the others, the man did not offer the stick to Jack, but only observed it for a few seconds before affixing it into the dirt so it stood upright and stepped away from it.

"I chose you once." The man did not speak in the normal sense. His mouth did not move, but his voice vibrated through the water and penetrated Jack's mind. "But this is no longer my choice to make."

He stared intently at the staff as if it held the answer to some great mystery.

"I give the choice to you, Jack." He returned his gentle gaze to Jack. "I give you enough strength to do one of two things. Return to the surface, and I release you of your responsibilities as a Guardian. Or…" The man did not finish his sentence, but simply nodded towards the staff. "Do you understand?"

Jack nodded without hesitation. He did understand.

The man smiled, strong and fatherly.

He glowed even brighter for a second and then disappeared, leaving Jack in darkness.

Jack could not breathe again, and the cold and dark seemed to press on him from every side, but he was not afraid.

Jack did not need the light to know where he had to go.

Stiffly, Jack rose.

He shuffled one foot forward, and the second followed more confidently. By the fifth step, Jack had left all doubts behind, and by the time his hand closed around the wooden surface of the staff, he had no more fears.

* * *

Karla could count on one hand how many times she had cried in her life. After her aunt's funeral years ago, she swore to herself she would never again make a blubbering fool of herself. She would be strong and resilient.

But when she had made that vow, she had never expected to watch as one of her best friends plunged into deadly cold waters.

She was not stupid. She knew how ice-cold waters froze up one's lungs and limbs, making one heavy and dragging its victim down like a rock. Despite that, Karla fixed her gaze on the hole in the ice, hoping for a familiar face to surface.

The freaky man—what was his name? Pitch?—grinned at the hole, and with each passing second, that unnatural smile grew wider and wider.

A minute passed, and James sobbed. Christina grabbed the boy and turned his face away from the sight. James clutched at Christina's coat and buried his face into her mid-section.

Something hit her cheek, and Karla flinched back from the feeling. No, she was not going to cry. Jack was not going to die. They were all going to laugh about this one day. This was all a dream.

"Karla," Kyle said gently.

"He's still under there," Karla murmured. She took a step forward, and a nightmare snarled a warning at her, but she took no notice. "We have to help him."

Kyle yanked her back, and she fought him.

"He's still down there," she screamed hysterically. Wetness streamed down her cheeks now.

Kyle picked her off the ground so that her feet no longer touched the ground. She had never realized how strong Kyle was.

"Let go! Let me go!" Karla shouted.

"So you can do what?" Kyle yelled back. "Jump in after him? What do you think that will do to Christina? To me?"

The questions made her pause, and he set her down and grabbed her shoulders so that she now faced him.

"Get James and Christina out of here," Kyle ordered.

Karla stared at her friend in stupor. "What do you plan to do?"

Kyle opened his mouth to answer, but whatever he meant to say disappeared as he screamed in anger. Karla was roughly pushed aside towards Christina, and she looked back in time to see Kyle get hit by a charging nightmare.

"I'm tired of all these heroes," Pitch spat. The Boogeyman came up to their group and the horses parted respectfully for their master.

He loomed over the fallen Kyle and glared at the teenager.

"Move aside, boy," Pitch sneered. "My only remaining vendetta is with that child over there."

The Nightmare King gestured over to where Christina and Karla huddled around James.

Kyle stood. He only reached the man's chest, but Kyle drew himself to his tallest, and glared right back. "I won't let you touch James," he spat.

"Such stupidity," Pitch scoffed.

The boogeyman raised his scythe and grinned triumphantly at Kyle.

A scream erupted from Karla's chest, and she rushed forward with no plan except to get Kyle out of there. She watched one friend die; she was not about to witness a second.

Karla reached Kyle before the downward stroke and covered her friend with her own body.

Wind whistled in her ears, and she heard a choking sound that she was sure must have been her own. She looked up, expecting the worse.

Something clattered to the ground, hitting Karla's ankles. She cried out although it was more out of surprise than pain.

Her eyes and brain took a moment to make sense of things.

The Nightmare King had dropped his weapon and instead had both hands clutching at a wooden crook hooked around his neck. The scythe lay at his feet and was quickly dissipating into formless black sand.

Karla's eyes followed the length of the wooden crook until she saw the white-haired individual that held it.

"Jack," she whispered.

The figure's eyes flickered toward her, and she was struck by the pure color of blue his eyes were now shaded. Along with the white hair, his skin was deathly pale, and he was dripping wet from head-to-toe, but he did not seemed bothered at all by it.

Those blue eyes focused on Pitch once more and narrowed dangerously.

"Get away from them, Pitch," Jack said in a low voice.

"You should be dead," Pitch choked out.

Jack gave a cold smile and said, "There's a lot you don't know about me. You don't know how important this lake is to me, do you? It was mistake to think you could beat me here."

With that said, Jack yanked the staff and flung Pitch across the clearing with incredible strength.

Jack turned to the nightmares that surrounded them.

"Get off my lake," Jack commanded.

He slammed his staff into the ground, and a cold power spread out from the impact. The nightmares reared in alarm and shied away from the white frost that began to creep across the whole clearing.

"Wind," Jack called out, looking up at the sky. "Get us out of here."

Karla vision blurred and spun, and she became weightless. The next thing she knew was the soft impact of being dumped into the snow on the side of a street.

She stood up dizzily, and beside her on the ground, Kyle groaned something about his stomach and too many tacos.

After the world stopped spinning, Karla took stock of her surroundings and realized she was on a road not too far from Kyle's house.

"Karla!"

The girl turned and saw both Christina and James running towards her.

Christina slammed into Karla in a full-body hug.

"I thought you were going to die too," Christina gasped.

"Where did Jack go?" James asked, looking around.

Karla looked around, but saw no other teenager, white-haired or otherwise.

"Jack," Karla called out. When she heard no response, she tried, "Jack Frost?"

"Right here," came a voice.

She turned to see a white-haired teen drop down from seemingly nowhere.

"Just had to make sure that we weren't followed," he said.

"Jack!" James cried out, running to his brother.

"Hey there, bud," Jack greeted casually as if he had not just taken a death dip in the frozen lake.

The brothers shared a few more murmured words between them and a hug before coming up to meet up with the rest of the group.

Karla still recognized Jack, but he looked different. There were the physical changes of course, but there seemed to be weight around the other teen as well—a weight she usually associated with people around her grandparents' age. He still held that staff, and it looked natural in his hands, so much so that Karla could almost not imagine him without it. She would have almost dismissed him as a stranger if not for that familiar lively sparkle in his eyes.

"Jack Frost," he said when he came to stop in front of the three gaping teens. He looked straight at Karla. "You called me Jack Frost."

"That's your name, isn't it?" she returned.

Jack brought his free hand up to his forehead. "Yeah," he said. "That's me."

"But how are you also Jack Bennett," Christina asked.

Jack grimaced and the hand on the staff tightened its hold. "I don't remember it all too well. Something about a spell. Pitch wanted revenge… It's all a bit jumbled. Kind of feels like my brain's been through the dryer and overheated."

"Great analogy," Kyle snorted.

Kyle laughed at Jack's petulant look and slung an arm around the other boy's shoulder.

"Nice not having you drown," Kyle said, ruffling Jack's white hair. "Gosh, you're freezing."

Jack laughed along with Kyle and pushed at him playfully. "Freezing kind of goes along with the whole Frost thing. You don't need to worry about me."

"Apparently not," Kyle agreed as he eyed his friend. "You being some ancient winter spirit and all. How old are you?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "It's not important."

"You're old, aren't you?" Kyle said, elbowing him in the gut. "One hundred? Two hundred?"

Jack just glared.

"Older? You're totally older. You're given me that old man glare." Kyle started to shake his fist and in his best old man voice, said, "Get off my lawn, you stupid kids."

Christina shoved Kyle out of the way and hugged Jack tightly.

After a moment, she took a step back and said, "It is you, isn't it?"

"The one and only." Jack grinned.

Christina gave him an extra squeeze for good measure, and that is when Karla decided it was a good time to give Jack a solid whack to the head.

"Hey!" he protested.

"Thanks for nothing, you good-for-nothing, half-drowned idiot," Karla snapped.

"Wasn't my idea," Jack grumbled.

"I seem to remember some doofus plunging a dagger down on breaking ice on his own accord," Karla snapped back.

"Okay, okay," Jack conceded. He hefted his staff so it balanced lightly on his shoulder. "I just needed to reclaim something of mine."

"A stick," Karla said skeptically.

"_I _seem to remember this stick saving your life," Jack shot back with his old, goofy grin.

Karla eyed the staff, noticing how frost covered the parts closest to Jack's hand in delicate patterns and how the whole thing seemed to pulse with power.

And then she looked back at Frost. His eyes were familiar, yet blazing with a beautiful ferocity.

"Nah," Karla said. "I think that was all you."

Karla finally came up to give the other teenager a hug and whispered in his ear, "I'm glad you're not dead. Like really, really glad."

Jack chuckled and squeezed her back.

Jack suddenly tensed and pulled away from Karla, his head tilted as if listening to someone.

"Who is she?" James gasped in an excited voice.

"Who's who?" Christina asked, looking around.

Karla did the same, but saw no one else on the deserted street.

Jack had his eyes fixed on something seemingly in front of him, and he raised a hand as if inviting a bird to land there.

"James, meet Baby Tooth, a representative of the Tooth Fairy. Baby Tooth, meet James and everyone else." Jack raised his hand as if presenting them with a gift, but Karla did not see anything.

"Oh, wow," James said, hopping from one foot to the other. "Hi!"

Karla looked at her other two friends, but they seemed just as confused.

Jack seemed to understand their confusion and said, "Come on. You believe in me, Jack Frost, and you just met the Boogeyman, but you still don't think the Tooth Fairy is real?"

"So the Tooth Fairy, Santa, and the Easter Bunny? They're all real?" Christina asked.

Jack nodded absent-mindedly and spoke to the empty air in his hand, "Scout ahead, Baby Tooth. I'll join the others soon."

"Wait, where are you going?" Christina asked.

Jack lowered his eyes and answered, "To join the fight of course. Pitch is still out there."

"Oh, no," Karla said. "I just watched you die. You are not going back there."

"It's my job," Jack murmured.

"It can't be your job," Karla nearly shouted. "You're just a high school student."

Jack looked at her, and she could almost read the years in those blue eyes. How much did she not know about her friend now he was Jack Frost as well as Jack Bennett? The Jack in front of her had somehow ceased to be just the silly kid down the street within the span of an hour.

"I going," he said with a hint of a smile. Karla read unspoken message, _I'd like to see try and stop me._

"Jack, no," Karla protested, a little more weakly this time.

James shoved his way past the teenagers that crowded around Jack and gave his older brother another hug.

"Come back, okay?" James said.

There was no fear or tears in the boy's voice any more. A strong, unwavering light shone in his eyes; James had the utmost faith in his brother.

Christina laid her hands on James's shoulders and nodded firmly to Jack.

"Do what you have to do," she told him. "We'll keep James safe, and for heaven's sake, don't die again."

James grinned, scanning the small crowd before him.

Karla put on a small smirk, trying to bury her misgivings. Kyle must have also had objections to abandoning their friend as well for he looked like he was attempting to swallow a golf ball.

Karla wished she had James and Christina's utter faith in the white-haired teen, but all she could remember was the wave of black sand and obsidian dagger in her friend's chest. Ashamed, Karla realized she was afraid.

"See you later," Jack said as he did after everyday of school.

He raised his staff, calling up a gust of wind. The winter spirit lifted easily off the ground as if he weighed no more than leaf. Within seconds, the winter spirit was out of sight.

"Come on guys," Kyle called to the rest of the remaining kids. "My house is the closest. Let's head there."

The ragtag group trudged across the empty street, following Kyle to one of the many houses.

Silently, Kyle slipped his key into the lock and swung the door open to his house.

James slipped passed the teenagers and sank into one of the sofas.

"Poor kid," Christina murmured. "He must be exhausted. Should we take him home?"

"None of you would happen to have a key to their house, would you?" Karla asked, looking at Kyle.

"Why are you looking at me?" Kyle questioned.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you at one point stole Jack's key and made a copy of it," Karla returned.

"That actually doesn't sound like a half bad idea," Kyle said.

Karla scowled, but it was Christina who responded, "Quit it, Kyle. I guess we'll stay here then until Jack returns."

Christina broke away from their little circle and sat on the sofa next to James. The boy scooted up to the girl and huddled close, shivering. Christina threw a blanket around the boy, and James closed his eyes, his breaths deepening.

Karla watched the scene. She knew others would find it endearing, but it rubbed Karla the wrong way. Christina was content to stay and wait; Karla was not.

Her friend had nearly died tonight and there apparently was a whole magical world out there. The thought of that left her feeling helpless and small.

She hated feeling helpless.

Something tugged at her arm, and she locked eyes with Kyle.

"You can't stand it either?" he asked, his eyes dark and serious for once.

Karla shook her head.

"Wait here," Kyle commanded.

He ran up the stairs, and in a few minutes, returned with his arms full with two duffel bags.

"What are these?" Karla questioned.

"My emergency bags for the zombie apocalypse," Kyle answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Food, first aid, and ah, here we go."

The redhead brought out what looked like hunting gear—knives of all sorts and a dismembered bow with arrows.

"Knives would probably work better," Kyle muttered under his breath. "Bow's kind of old."

"Kyle what… What?" Karla sputtered.

"Come on, Karla," Kyle said. "You've known me practically all your life. Are you really surprised?"

No really she wasn't, but when she held one of the knives, her hands trembled.

"Strap it to you belt," Kyle instructed. "And here. Take this."

He handed her a shoulder bag that made muffled clinking sounds when he passed it to her.

She took that bag and opened it. The bag was filled with little canisters that reminded Karla of those old-fashion camera film containers.

"Look here," Kyle said, pointing. "Push that button right there and you got about ten seconds before it goes off, so I suggest you throw it fast before it blows."

Karla almost dropped the thing.

"This is a grenade?" Karla hissed.

"Of course not," Kyle answered, sounding offended. He shouldered a bag similar to hers, and Karla bet it was filled with the same strange canisters. "I don't know how to build a grenade."

"Then what is this?" Karla asked.

"Well if Jack can fight those nightmare things with ice, then so can we." Kyle gave Karla a pointed look. "Remember when I said I was going to pelt Brittney McCracken with snowballs via a catapult in her locker? Well, call those things an upgraded version of that."

Karla threw her hands up in exasperation. "I give up! You're impossible."

"Which is why you love me," Kyle quipped. "So are we doing this or not?"

The boy turned and headed towards the door. Karla watched with a rising dread as she realized Kyle meant to go with or without her.

"Wait, Kyle!" Karla shouted after him. "Shouldn't we think this through a little more?"

Kyle paused only long enough to give Karla a hard stare. "I think I've been doing enough thinking. All I know is my best friend is out there fighting, and I should be standing by him like I should've been all a long."

After that, Kyle, for once in his life, left with no extra words or drama.

Slightly stunned, Karla stared at the open door, clutching at the bag Kyle had given her. She looked over to Christina and just caught sight of her adjusting the blanket around James's shoulders. The two brunettes were not going anywhere soon.

A breeze rustled through Karla's hair. She thought the air to her left shimmered slightly in the moonlight.

_Come on. You believe in me, Jack Frost, but_ _you still don't think the Tooth Fairy is real? _Jack's voice chided in her ear.

Karla blinked and suddenly she was there. She was beautiful and delicate in the soft moonlight.

It took a moment or two for the words to form on Karla's dry lips.

"Will you protect them?" Karla nearly begged.

The little tooth fairy nodded her head.

"Thank you," Karla whispered, and she took off into the night.

* * *

Bunny twisted in midair, letting his boomerangs fly.

Five nightmares exploded into dust before the boomerangs returned to the rabbit's hands, but more enemies took their place.

"Where is Pitch?" Bunny yelled over the chaos of the battle.

The Easter Bunny cursed underneath his breath. This was what Pitch wanted. The Guardians were all corralled into an unknown section of the forest with Jack and the rest who knows where and in whatever kind of trouble.

"I don't know," Tooth's voice answered somewhere to his left. He could not see her. "We need to find Pitch before—"

She cut off herself off with a yell of anger.

Dust exploded where Bunny was sure the fairy was, but he still could not see her.

"Tooth! Sheila!" Bunny yelled. He gave a frustrated cry. "Out of my way, you bloody ponies!"

Sand sliced at Bunny's body. He knew he must have looked horrible, but anger and frustration fueled his tired body.

It's too much. Bunny cut down his enemies with all the speed his body possessed, but it wasn't enough. The enemy was just too much.

His mind flashed back to the first Battle of Burgess.

"No," the rabbit grounded out. "I won't let the ankle-biters down. I won't retreat!"

With a cry, the Easter Bunny released a flurry of exploding eggs. The nightmares screamed in rage and pain as their bodies were torn apart.

Bunny did not have a chance to take satisfaction in his work as a horse charged at him from the dust.

"Come on, ya bloody dingo! Let's go!" Bunny yelled.

He threw a boomerang, but the horse ducked the shot, darting to one side so the return would also miss. Screaming, the nightmare slammed into the rabbit.

With only one boomerang, Bunny could barely defend himself, and he did not have the time to snag another egg bomb.

The horse pinned the rabbit against a tree. It raised it hooves to pound the rabbit into a bloody pulp, but then it froze—literally.

Bunny stared in amazement at the ice sculpture that had taken the nightmare's place. Its weight was off balance so it tipped to one side and shattered as soon as it hit the ground.

"Impossible," Bunny muttered.

He took a step forward and felt the chill of ice beneath his feet.

"I thought we didn't believe in the impossible," a voice laughed.

Bunny's head whipped to his right, and his eyes drank in the sight of the figure coming towards him. Clear blue eyes glittered mischievously, and that infuriating, familiar smile graced the teenager's face.

"Bloody show pony," Bunny breathed.

Jack Frost laughed and tossed Bunny something.

The rabbit caught it on instinct and saw that it was his other boomerang.

"You dropped something," the winter child said cheekily.

"Frost, I am going to strangle ya," Bunny threatened.

Jack laughed as he whacked aside another nightmare. "Yeah, missed you too, Kangaroo."

"Ya better have a bloody good explanation for everything." Another egg bomb went off, taking several nightmares down. "And I do believe ya owe me an apology for that cold shoulder."

Jack could not stop laughing, and Bunny could not help the smile that tugged at his lips.

"Yeah, yeah. We'll take care of that later," Jack said as he froze a herd of horses solid.

In the middle of an all out battle, Bunny stood with countless cuts across his body, and he was pretty sure that he had sprained one of his wrists a while back. Nightmares converged on all sides, screaming for blood and fear. Bunny was not even sure where three out of the four other Guardians were. Despite it all, Bunny could not wipe that stupid grin off his face. K

* * *

**So I am really behind on answering reviews. If I have not answered your review, I will eventually get around to them. I hope to get to them tomorrow, but don't quote me on that. The Internet here is really not doing me any favors, and I figured that posting the chapters is a more important use of my limited Internet time…**

**Answers to anonymous reviews:**

**Devil angel: **How much blood and gore do you need, person!? I don't bring my computer with me when I travel because I only bring one backpack and end up walking around with it for long periods of time, so one, it won't fit, and two, I don't want to carry that weight. Thanks for another review!

**Guest (1): **Bwahahaha yes, another cliffhanger because I say so! Here's your update and thanks for the review!

**ArcAngelCrystal: **Thanks for another review! And yes, Pitch needs to get his head out of his butt.

**Guest (2): **Yes, I can leave you all on a cliffhanger. Why? Because I am the cruel, cruel author who enjoys that kinda stuff. Thanks for the review! :)

**Greenaplprincess: **Well, that was one… yeah… Thanks for the review? Haha But in all seriousness, I did enjoy your review, so thanks!

**~playing-in-the-mud**


	12. Chapter 12: Belief Enough

**Chapter 12 – Belief Enough**

* * *

**Finally back! It's been an intense few weeks of projects and yeah… Onto the story…**

* * *

_**Previously**_

_Kyle paused only long enough to give Karla a hard stare. "I think I've been doing enough thinking. All I know is my best friend is out there fighting, and I should be standing by him like I should've been all a long."_

_After that, Kyle, for once in his life, left with no extra words or drama._

* * *

**17 years in the past**

"Grandpa J, hurry up!"

The elderly man looked up to where the brown-haired boy was waving at him.

He huffed a laugh and called back, "Grandpa J's old. Let him take his time."

The little seven-year-old considered it for a second before running back, so he was once again at his great-grandfather's side.

"Then I'll walk with you," the boy announced grabbing Grandpa J's free hand.

Jamie marveled at his great-grandchild, rubbing his rough, wrinkle hand against the boy's soft, young one.

He was blessed to have lived this long to have seen three great-grandchildren born, but this one was very dear to him. It might have been an unfair advantage that this child was Jack Frost in his past life.

No one knew, not even the child himself, but one day, Jamie expected that the child would have to take up the Winter Spirit's mantle again, and that was why the two were taking a not-so-casual stroll today.

It had been interesting watching the child grow these past seven years. At times, Jamie could hardly believe the boy was Jack Frost—the Guardian, the Winter, his friend. Jamie had done his fair share of diaper changes and had woken up to sooth the crying, sleepless child once in a while. And yet, sometimes…

Something wet and cold hit Jamie in the face, and the old man broke out of his musings with a startled yelp.

Little Jack giggle and let go of Jamie's hand to race away a safe distance away.

He stopped to turn back and stick his tongue out at Jamie.

"Little bugger," Jamie scolded him, using the name he remembered Bunny would use for Frost all the time.

Jack giggled again.

Jamie hobbled up to the child, using the stick in his right hand to support his weight.

Jamie stretched out a hand as if to stroke the boy's head, but then slapped a handful of snow into the back of Jack's jacket.

Jack shrieked with laughter as he ran around, trying to get the snow out of his jacket.

When Jack ran near to Jamie, the older man grabbed the child in bear hug. He could no longer lift the boy for he had gotten so big.

"Cheater," Jack accused, his voice muffled under Jamie's jacket. "Cheater, cheater."

"How am I the cheater?" Jamie asked.

"Cheater," Jack said with a false pout.

"That's not answering the question," Jamie returned, poking the child in the side.

Jack shrieked again and wiggled his way out of Jamie's grasp.

"Come on, Grandpa J," Jack said, neatly avoiding answering the question and Jamie's grab for his jacket. "We're almost there.

Jack and Jamie broke out the dense forest and found themselves at the lake.

The lake itself had not changed since the day Jack Frost had taken his oath as a Guardian. The surrounding forest though had seemed to get thicker over the years to create a sort sanctuary around the space.

The thick, tangled mesh of nature had never deterred the local children from finding their way here to maybe catch a chance glance of the Guardian of Fun. That particular Guardian had unfortunately not been sighted for the past seven years or so.

"So why are we here?" Jack asked. "You told me you would tell me your secret when we got here."

"And so I did," Jamie chuckled as Jack danced from one foot to another. "I came to show you this."

Jamie raised the wooden staff he had previously been using as a walking stick.

Jack eyed the staff, and Jamie watched the boy, hoping for a flicker of recognition in his face. He was to be disappointed though as little Jack's eyes only took it all in with one glance and then gave Jamie a thoroughly unimpressed look.

"It's a stick," Jack noted. "That's a stick too."

Jack pointed at a fallen branch not far from them.

"It's tool and a weapon," Jamie contradicted.

"It's a stick," Jack repeated.

_Whap!_

"Ouch!" Jack yelped.

Jamie suppressed a grin. The strike from the staff could not have hurt more than snapping a rubber band on skin, but the more wicked part of Jamie considered it retribution for the embarrassment Frost had caused him on his first date.

"Now do I have your attention?" Jamie asked.

Jack nodded, but muttered rebelliously, "It's still a stick."

"Once upon a time," Jamie began.

Jack perked up at the familiar phrase and wiggled in anticipation for one of his great-grandfather's famed stories.

"The Moon had chosen a warrior."

"Man in the Moon," Jack breathed, awe tingeing his voice.

"Yes, the Man in the Moon, so of course you know this warrior was a special one."

"Did he have many battles?"

"Yes, as a warrior he had many battles. He won many battles for people like you." Jamie poked Jack in the stomach.

"He fought for the children and his friends. He fought for good. And like every warrior, he had a weapon."

Jack suddenly eyed the staff with more interest.

"That's right. It was this very staff. Humble though it might be, it held great power to call down storms and command the very wind itself."

Little Jack was definitely interested now. He had completely stilled, and a small hand hovered just above the stick's surface.

"Would you like to hold it?" Jamie asked. He had to resist the urge to just shove the staff into the boy's hands.

Jack looked up eagerly. "Can I?"

Jamie placed the staff carefully in they boy's hands and stepped back.

There was no light or sudden snowfall. The stick was still a stick in little Jack's hands, much too long for someone of his small stature to wield.

Jamie was not sure if he was disappointed or relieved at the lack of any event. He still had his great-grandson, but Jack Frost remained lost to him

"If this is the warrior's, why do you have it?" Jack piped up.

Jamie's mind flashed back to that early fall day when he found his best friend lying bleeding and broken in the grass.

"Even the Moon's warriors have their limits."

Jack's smile slowly slipped off his face.

"The warrior met a very old enemy. A very tricky and powerful enemy. They fought a great battle, but the warrior came away with a very serious wound. He would not be able to recover from that wound for a very long time, so before he disappeared to heal, he entrusted his weapon with me."

Jamie paused as he considered his next words very carefully.

"Jack, I can't always protect this weapon."

"Why not?" the child asked.

"Well, I could barely keep up with you today, and I'm definitely not getting any younger. I'm afraid if someone were to come for this before the warrior's time to return, I would not be able to keep it safe."

"I'll protect it!" Jack volunteered. "I'll protect it for you, Grandpa J."

Jamie chuckled. "I know you will, Jack. That's why I brought you here today with me. We're going to hide the weapon here, and it'll be our secret. Pinky promise."

"Pinky promise!" Jack agreed, linking his pinky with his great-grandfather's.

"Come then. I'll show you where we will be hiding it."

Reclaiming the staff from the child, Jamie strode out towards the ice. He stopped when he realized there was no sound of footsteps following after him.

Looking back, he saw Jack hanging out about a pace or two away from the lake's edge.

The lake was frozen over this winter, and Jamie had come here the day before to test the ice to see if it would hold their weight.

"Jack?" Jamie called back.

The boy jumped at his grandfather's voice and looked at him with wide brown eyes.

"Are we going onto the ice?" Jack asked.

Jamie nodded. "It's safe, Jack. I checked."

Jack still did not come forward.

"I can watch from here," Jack mumbled.

Walking back to the boy, Jamie placed a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Do you trust me?" Jamie asked.

Jack did not hesitate to nod his head.

"Then take my hand."

Jack did and did not so much as flinch when they walked out onto the ice together.

Jamie used the tools he had brought to make a small hole in the ice.

When he stood again, Jamie said, "We'll hide the staff here until the warrior is ready to reclaim it."

"Will it really be safe here?" Jack questioned.

"Yes," Jamie replied immediately. He could not explain it, but this felt right. "The wind and animals and the Moon with protect it with you."

Without any sort of fanfare, Jamie dropped the staff down the hole. For a moment, Jamie was afraid that the staff would float like any other piece of wood, but magic must have been in play, for the staff sank out of sight within seconds. The hole remained there for a moment before it completely iced over and left no trace behind.

They stood together for a moment, staring at the spot where the hole used to be.

"Grandpa J, what was the warrior's name?"

Jamie had expected the question, and he briefly considered telling little Jack the entire story, but looking down at the sweet face of the seven-year-old, he could not bring himself to burden the child with that knowledge.

"His name was Jack," he replied simply.

Little Jack's face broke out into a grin.

"Like me!" he exclaimed.

A hard lump formed in Jamie's throat, and he forced himself to smile.

"Yes, like you," he agreed.

Emotions squeezed at Jamie's heart, and to hide them from Jack, the old man knelt down and hugged his great-grandchild tightly.

"I love you, Jack."

* * *

**Beneath the ice**

The boy, no older than 17, stood there under the ice and surrounded by murky waters. One hand was firmly wrapped around the wooden staff.

Nothing happened.

Working it out of the mud, Jack held it in both hands, but he felt no different other than the fact that he was running out of air.

Strangely though, he felt no need to panic.

It was dark in the water, so Jack used his hands to explore the surface of the staff. He found that he knew every edge and crevice of its surface. It felt right in his hands.

Jack brought the staff close to his body, and like a flash of lightning, the words came back to him.

He opened his mouth to speak, and despite being underwater, the words came out clear and strong.

"I, Jack Frost, vow to watch over the children of the world. To guard them with my life, their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams. For they are all that we have, all that we are, and all that we will ever be.

"I am now and forevermore a Guardian."

And then there was light.

* * *

**Present**

"Jack!"

The white-haired boy barely turned in time to receive a full-body hug from the Queen Fairy herself.

Her wings seemed to buzz a little faster, and she managed not to skewer him with her twin scimitars when she had rushed to embrace him.

Jack allowed himself to enjoy the familiarity of her presence for a count of five seconds before freezing four nightmares who had tried to take advantage of the two Guardians' momentary distraction. Tooth released him and cut through two more nightmares without batting an eye.

"It is you, isn't it Sweet Tooth?" Tooth asked while fending off attacks from all sides.

"Of course, is Jack!" a voice boomed.

Jack twisted, but only caught a flicker of North's red coat.

"Is back and revving full bottle," North's voice came again.

"I'm pretty sure that's 'throttle,'" Jack pointed out.

"Yes, throttle these nightmares," North agreed.

Jack shook his head, but a smile played on his lips.

"The ol' bloke hasn't changed much in the time ya've been gone, mate," Bunny said. "Haven't missed much in that department."

Jack struck down another nightmare and turned towards Bunny to crow, "That's 34, Cottontail. Beat that!"

"Don't tell me ya're making a game of this, Frost," Bunny sputtered as he kept his enemies at bay.

"Do ya really need to ask that, mate?" Jack returned in a phony Australian accent.

"Forget Pitch! These boomerangs are coming for your head!" Bunny roared. "Bloody annoyance that you are. And don't forget that I started this fight way before ya. I bet I'm way past a measly 34."

"How you Guardians manage to get anything done is beyond me," an unwelcomed voice said over the chaos of the battle.

All eyes turned towards the dark figure walking calmly onto the battlefield.

Light banter forgotten, Jack was moving before he even realized he had told his feet to move.

"Pitch!"

Jack slammed into the Nightmare King who had barely managed to turn in time to block Jack's attack.

When the two collided, light and darkness flashed; the two energies screamed as they battled their opposite for dominance.

Behind Jack, his fellow Guardians yelled out battle cries and began smashing into nightmares. Black sand exploded into the air as horse after horse fell to the Guardians' power.

No one dared to approach Pitch or Jack. Both the nightmares and Guardians could see neither of them wanted nor currently needed any help. This matter was personal after all.

"Well, well," Pitch mused. "Jack Frost back in the flesh."

Jack grinned coldly. "Oh, it's me all right."

"I suppose killing the human you was a bit unsatisfying," Pitch mocked. "So weak and pathetic. Now here's the real battle. Let's finish what we started."

The two charged.

Jack countered every one of Pitch's strikes with his staff, weaving in and out of the older man's defenses and managing a sharp jab here and there.

Pitch growled in frustration as he found he could not keep up with the youth's speed and agility. His preference had always been long distance battle, and that was now beginning to show as Jack gained the upper hand.

Sweeping his scythe low, Pitch aimed to knock the boy's feet out from under him, but his movement stopped sharply, jarring his body. Risking a glance downwards, Pitch saw his scythe had been frozen to the ground.

Pitch's attention was once again brought back up by a fierce yell from Jack, and Pitch only managed to see a blur of movement before the butt of Jack's staff caught him in the face.

Pitch flew backwards as winter magic erupted before him.

Jack wasted no time and bore down on the fallen Pitch with his staff raised for another attack.

Snarling, Pitch raised a hand towards Jack. The scythe that was still stuck to the ground dissolved into sand and raced into Jack's unprotected side.

Jack realized too late that the danger was in his peripheral rather than in front, so he was caught off guard as the black sand swept into him and slammed him into boulder.

Usually, Jack would have brushed off such an attack, but the touch of the black sand seemed to sap his energy away, so he simply lay were he had fallen.

Pitch picked himself up from the ground and approached Jack as the scythe reformed in his hands.

"Feeling a little out of it, Frost?" Pitch noted. "I guess two decades is a bit long for a Guardian to be away from his work. Pity I won't give you the time to recover."

Pitch struck, and Jack barely managed to roll out of the way in time.

As much as Jack wished to deny it, Pitch was right.

His initial flurry of attacks had been fueled by the anger of seeing his friends and brother in danger. His brief encounter with the Man in the Moon had given Jack strength enough to scatter Pitch's small army at the lake, but now… Jack definitely felt the weight of the lost decades. His reserves of energy had depleted quickly.

Not wasting breath on returning Pitch's taunts, Jack instead leapt at Pitch, staff extended.

There was warmth in his chest. James believed in him right along with Kyle, Karla, and Christina. Jack could almost imagine their lights shining as brightly as Jamie's once had.

It was enough.

Ice and snow shot towards the wide-eyed Nightmare King.

When the mist settled, Pitch was partially frozen in spikes of ice.

"Thanks for the offer, Pitch," Jack said. "But I don't need a rest to take care of you."

"Your bravado, won't do you much good," Pitch snarled. He twisted and broke out of the ice. "Look around."

Pitch waved a hand around to the swarm of nightmares that closed in from all sides. With a flourish of his hand, several horses dissolved and rushed towards Jack.

The frost child dodged, but when he landed, another wave of sand was bearing down on him. Jack found himself in the middle of a swirling mass of pulsing sand. Nearby, Pitch was directing the nightmares with his hand like some mad conductor.

There was no time to retaliate as Jack leapt away from attack after attack. It was all he could do keep himself from getting seriously injured although he was already sporting some noticeable scratches.

"Jack, watch out!" Bunny's voice cried out.

The white-haired Guardian turned towards the voice, but that turned out to be a mistake as the attack come from the other direction.

Jack was sent tumbling across the snow-covered ground, and when he looked up tendrils of dark sand raced towards them as their points turned sharp and deadly.

Raising his staff, Jack froze three tendrils, but a fourth shot through his ice, aiming for his heart.

Somewhere—too far away to help—Bunny gave a wordless cry, and Jack desperately threw up his arm to block the blow.

The fourth suddenly froze a good foot away from his chest. Jack gaped at the frozen spike in astonishment for that was not his ice that had saved him.

"Wow, I turn my back for one second, and you go and almost get yourself skewered again," Kyle's voice floated towards Jack as he appeared from the underbrush. He was casually spinning a strange canister in his hand.

Another tendril came towards the two boys, and Kyle chucked his canister at it where it froze upon impact.

"Please, ladies and gentlemen," Kyle said to nightmares gathering around them. "Hold your applause. The show is only just beginning."

"Kyle?" Jack asked in amazement. He looked from his friend to the two frozen tendrils. "What in the world is that?"

Kyle was spinning another canister in his hand. "My own recipe," he said, smirking.

"You're here," Jack stated.

"Nice to know your powers of observation have not been damaged from your dip in the lake," Kyle said sarcastically.

A nightmare charged, and both boys readied their weapons, but a canister flew towards it before either of them could move. The horse did not even have a chance to scream before it froze solid.

"I'm here, too, you idiots," Karla said as she joined them. "Quit standing there and gossiping like old hens."

"Glad you could make it," Kyle replied with a grin.

Karla rolled her eyes. "As if I could trust you to bring Jack back alive."

"'Jack back,'" Kyle repeated in a devious tone. "You're a poet and did not know it."

Jack was sure Karla would have pummeled Kyle into the ground if she was not so busy tossing those strange ice bombs at the nightmares.

Karla suddenly turned on Jack and leveled a glare at him.

"And we're here to help no matter what you say!" she shouted at him.

Jack stared at her, not comprehending for a moment. Then it dawned on him that Karla fully expected him to protest and send them home like some overbearing parent. If Jack was more responsible, he probably would have. Lucky for the two humans, Jack was not even close to being a responsible adult, and it was not like they had brought James (which would have been a different story entirely). The Bennett side of him was delighted to have his friends at his side.

"Sure, whatever," Jack yelled back as he engaged a nightmare. "Glad you could join the party."

He could almost taste Karla's surprise.

"What?" he asked as he smirked at her gob smacked face. "I've fought by eight-year-olds before. I think you guys are a step up."

"You fought by—"

"Never mind. Story for another time," Jack interrupted.

"Yes, I would suggest you pay attention, _children,_" the Nightmare King said from where he still orchestrated his nightmares. "Or else something might just _happen._"

Another cluster of sand spikes rushed towards the three teens.

Back-to-back-to-back, the three of them fought. They worked perfectly in sync as if they had been training to fight together all their lives.

Jack could see Pitch's growing frustration as he failed again and again to break through their defenses.

"You can't break what we have," Jack shouted.

"Is that a challenge?" Pitched tossed back.

The Nightmare King was suddenly gone as he slipped into his shadows.

"Look out, guys!" Jack told his friends. His eyes darted around trying to pinpoint the Boogeyman's position.

Kyle let out a yelp of surprise and stumbled backwards when the dark man materialized before him. Before any of them could react, Pitch was reaching towards Kyle as if to grab him by the front as he had done before. Jack yelled a warning, but it turned out that it was unnecessary as Pitch hesitated.

"What happened to your fear, boy?" Pitch murmured just loud enough for them to barely hear over the sounds of battle.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Kyle snarled as he slashed a knife at the offending hand.

Pitch merely took a step back, his eyes smoldering.

"Fear does not just disappear like that except…" Pitch glared over at Jack.

Jack flashed back to a chilly Easter night where an eight-year-old Jamie declared, _I do believe in you. I'm just not afraid of you._

"You have no place here," Jack announced. He hefted his staff towards Pitch. "Leave, Pitch. I can't destroy you, but I will kick you out where you don't belong."

Karla gave a sharp, angry cry, and launched a clenched fist at Pitch's head.

He did not even look at her when he caught her hand with his own.

Karla gasped and struggled to free herself.

"You say I don't belong here?" Pitch questioned before he turned to look at Karla. "I beg to differ. The boy may be a lost cause, but the girl…"

Pitch studied Karla and tightened his hold around her wrist as she swore and bucked.

"Like a wild stallion," Pitch said with much interest. "I wonder what lies behind your mask. I wonder what will break you."

"I'm not afraid," Karla spat.

It was convincing—_very _convincing—but Jack caught the way Karla's eyes had flickered away from Pitch's face just for a second. Jack suddenly knew that Karla was very, _very _afraid right now, and in the hands of the Nightmare King…

Jack leapt forward to separate Karla from Pitch, but by the time he got there, they were gone.

"There!" Kyle shouted, pointing.

A shadow zigzagged across the clearing and into the trees. Nightmares broke away from the Guardians and followed the shadow.

"Karla!" Without a second thought, Jack charged after Pitch and his friend.

Jack could hear shouting behind him as the rest of his friends clambered after him, but he barely paid them any attention, as he was more concerned with keeping the shadow in sight.

Weaving in and out of trees, Jack was able to keep up with the shadow, but never gained even an inch on it.

Suddenly, it dropped away out of sight, and Jack dropped down to investigate where the shadow had disappeared.

"Oof!" Jack stumbled forward, while Kyle fell back onto his backside from their unexpected collision.

"Why'd we stop?" Kyle demanded as he wasted no time and leapt to his feet. "Where'd they go? Where's Karla? Karla!"

Kyle turned in a circle, trying to catch sight of his missing friend. Instead he saw the assembled Guardians as they came to a halt next to them.

"Where'd that creep take her?" Kyle directed at the Easter Bunny.

The warrior rabbit blinked down at Kyle in amazement. "Ya can see me?"

Kyle growled in frustration at Bunny's bewilderment and turned back to Jack who was looking down at something.

"What's going on, Jack?" Kyle snapped, worry coloring his words. "Where's Karla?"

Jack did not say anything, but simply pointed down. Before the two boys lay a hole that was almost obscured by tangled vines that had wrapped themselves around a decrepit bedpost.

A cold _something_ wafted up from the hole and swept over the odd assemblage like death's final breath.

"What's down there?" Kyle whispered, his ire momentarily forgotten.

"It's Pitch's lair," Jack answered. "Pitch will be at his strongest down there. The place is like a maze of living darkness."

"Sounds fun," Kyle grumbled.

Moving as one unit, Kyle and Jack brought up their weapons and smashed through the vines blocking their path.

* * *

**Answers to anonymous reviews:**

**WEast: **Thanks again for the review! Knowing Kyle and Karla they're bound to do something stupid, so… yeah…

**ArcAngelCrystal: **I'm glad you like it. Thanks for another review!

**~playing-in-the-mud**


	13. Chapter 13: Darkness and Light

**Chapter 13 – Where Darkness is Bred and Light is Found**

* * *

**I'm back! Sorry that this update took so long. I really did try to get this out earlier, but it really wasn't happening. I was finishing up my abroad program and decided to devote all my effort to that, and then adjusting back to life at home took longer than I anticipated, but you don't need to hear my ramblings… On with the story…**

* * *

_**Previously**_

"_What's going on, Jack?" Kyle snapped, worry coloring his words. "Where's Karla?"_

_Jack did not say anything, but simply pointed down. Before the two boys lay a hole that was almost obscured by tangled vines that had wrapped themselves around a decrepit bedpost. _

_A cold something wafted up from the hole and swept over the odd assemblage like death's final breath. _

"_What's down there?" Kyle whispered, his ire momentarily forgotten. _

"_It's Pitch's lair," Jack answered. "Pitch will be at his strongest down there. The place is like a maze of living darkness."_

"_Sounds fun," Kyle grumbled. _

_Moving as one unit, Kyle and Jack brought up their weapons and smashed through the vines blocking their path._

* * *

Karla would not suggest traveling by shadows to anyone. She hated it. She could tell anyone that by the first ride. The second ride was completely unnecessary and only reinforced her absolute dislike for this particular mode of travel. Her stomach rolled as all of her sense shut down, and she was floating, but not in the fun underwater kind of sense. It was more of a lost and disconnected feeling.

And there was also the apparent lack of courtesy Pitch had when it came to hosting guests, for Karla was unduly and rudely dropped onto a hard, cold floor that she assumed was Pitch's lair.

She stood slowly and shakily, taking in the high stone walls with solid columns and sweeping arches.

It was amazing from an architectural standpoint, especially since a lot of it did not seem physically possible, but its vastness and emptiness only made it seem lonely and very, very creepy.

"What do you think?" Pitch's low voice came from somewhere… deep, below, above… Karla really could not tell.

"Ever thought about hosting a haunted house," Karla asked. She brought out her knife and felt more confident with something solid in her hands. "You certainly have the space for it. You could cash in big during Halloween."

Pitch sighed, and Karla swore that it came from behind her, but when she turned no one was there.

"The problem with you teenagers is that you think you can't be scared any more," Pitch's voice commented. "One horror movie after another and then you think you're immune to the fear. But…"

A nightmare reared to life before her and screamed.

Stumbling back, Karla almost joined the nightmare with a cry of her own, but she managed to choke it back. Instead, she swung trembling arms at the nightmare, but the horse merely eyed the knife in her hands with contempt.

"Really, now," Pitch said somewhere off to her left. "I think teenagers have the most fear. With your childhood fantasies and nightmares not quite shaken off and the unknown of adulthood looming on the future's horizon… Make's for quite a potent mix, doesn't it?"

Pitch laughed and its sound echoed relentlessly through the winding space. Shadows danced across the darkness.

"Stop it!" Karla yelled.

Another bout of laughter replied.

"Stop it!"

As if answering her unspoken cry for help, a shaft of light blazed through the darkness, and Pitch snarled as if the light had been physical blow.

A figure appeared from the light. Karla would recognize it anywhere.

"Jack!" she nearly sobbed and ran towards the light.

Her feet pounded on the stone beneath her and she even used her hands to push herself along. Her whole being screamed at her to get close to the light—to get away from this darkness—to flee!

"Jack! Jack!" Karla's hands reached out towards to her friend, but to her horror, Jack only seemed to become smaller and smaller as if he were running in the opposite direction.

And this time Karla really did sob. She stopped her frantic, useless run and brought a fist to her mouth to stifle the sound.

A hand touched her, and Karla whirled with the knife cutting down wildly.

"Woah, Karla," a welcome voice said. "It's okay. It's me."

Jack was suddenly before her, and Karla grabbed his hoodie tightly in one shaking fist to confirm that, yes, he was real.

"Let's get you out of here," Jack murmured. He raised his free hand to bring her close to himself, but a wave of sand cut off the motion and they were flung apart once more.

"Karla!"

But the girl could not answer her friend as sand filled her gaping mouth.

"Ah, ah, ah," Pitch's voice said as if scolding naughty children. "You're playing by my rules here. And I'm not done."

Karla rode the wave of sand like a terrifying trip down rapids before they deposited her once more on solid stone. Shaking, Karla coughed up mouthfuls of sand and rubbed the grit from her eyes.

Above her empty cages hung on long chains and creaked in imaginary breezes. Karla shuddered at the thought of what they had once held or what they were supposed to hold.

If Pitch's lair were some sort of medieval castle, then Karla would guess that she was now in some sort of throne room based on its elaborate (although twisted) décor.

"Welcome."

Karla turned and saw Pitch standing before her with not a care in the world.

There was a scuffling sound behind her, and Karla turned in time to see the Guardians plus Kyle burst into the room.

Nightmares immediately formed ranks, blocking off the Guardians from Karla and Pitch.

"You don't seem to get it, Guardians," Pitch sneered. "My home, my rules."

"The girl does not belong to you," North bellowed. "Release her, and we will leave your filthy hole."

"You don't get it," Pitch shouted back. "I don't hold her here." Pitch held up his hands as if to prove his point. "Her own fear is what keeps her captive in this place."

"Stop saying that. I'm not afraid of you!" Karla screamed. She raised her knife in front of her body. "I've faced much worse than you."

The Nightmare King chuckled as if that amused him. "Really now? I'd like to know what could be worse than me."

Jack yelled out a warning, but Karla heard it too late for the Nightmare King had already reached and grabbed her chin roughly.

Karla's whole body went numb, and the knife clattered to the floor as smoldering golden eyes burned into her own.

* * *

_Teary blue eyes blinked open, and Karla tried to smother her sniffles. _

_Feet ran past her, and Karla shrank further into the bush she was hiding under. The young girl tried to ignore her drippy nose and just breathe through her mouth. That proved just as useless since she was still hiccupping from her recent cry._

_Daddy did not like it when she cried. He would be angry when he saw her like this. _

_"Karla?"_

_The five-year-old almost gasped with joy. _

_Her auntie had come to rescue her. _

_"Tia Esperanza!" Karla exclaimed, crawling out of her hiding place. _

_The dark-haired lady opened up her arms, and Karla climbed readily into the older woman's lap. _

_Esperanza was not really her aunt, but she said family ran deeper than blood. Esperanza was smart and she never lied, so Karla snuggled deeper into her aunt's embrace. _

_"What is wrong, mi amor?" Esperanza asked after placing a kiss on Karla's golden locks. "I come to pick you up, and you are in tears."_

_"Some of the older boys were mean," Karla mumbled. She did not want to talk about this. Her auntie was here, and everything was all right now. She did not want to think about those mean boys any more. _

_But her aunt was a stubborn woman. _

_"What did they say?" she prompted gently. _

_Karla picked at her nails, delaying. _

_"Mean stuff," she answered shortly. Esperanza tapped the child's knee expectantly, and the five-year-old added reluctantly, "About mama."_

_Esperanza hummed as though she understood. _

_"Is it true?" Karla asked. She turned around so she could see Esperanza's face. "Was my mama a slut?" _

_Esperanza's reaction was immediate. Her hazel eyes flashed with an unfamiliar ferocity, and her grip on Karla tightened. _

_"Ay! Don't say such words, especially about your mother," Esperanza scolded sternly. _

_Karla flinched at her aunt's tone, but she had to know. _

_"But was she?" _

_Esperanza met Karla's eyes and studied them as if weighing how much to tell her. _

_"She was many things," Esperanza began slowly. "She was beautiful. Carefree and adventurous. Young. Too young..."_

_Her aunt trailed off for a moment, and Karla knew her aunt well enough to know what she was thinking. Esperanza missed the mother Karla never knew. Mama was with the angels, Esperanza would always say, but it did not seem to make her any less sad. _

_"She was a good friend," Esperanza continued. "And smart, but... she also made some very unwise decisions. Mi amor, your mother made many mistakes, but she was not a slut. And she was so brave."_

"_Brave how?"_

"_She had you."_

_Esperanza touched the side of Karla's face, and something akin to wonder lit up her hazel eyes. _

_"Now, chin up!" she ordered as she wiped away the remaining tears on the child's face. "You know the truth now. Don't let anyone tell you different. Smile! You're beautiful like your mama when you smile."_

_Karla beamed for her aunt and was rewarded with a laugh like music. _

_"Ay dios mio, child! You'll be sweeping boys off their feet with a smile like that in no time."_

_Karla scrunched up her nose. "No. Boys are icky and mean."_

_Esperanza chuckled as she stood and took Karla by the hand. _

_"Let us go," Esperanza said. "You will stay at my place until your papa comes to pick you up at seven."_

_Esperanza began to sing a silly little tune in her strange language. Karla only understood a few words, but skipped happily to beat. She burst out into giggles as her aunt swung her up. Up, then down, and back again. Up and down. Again and again. _

_Her worries disappeared with the motion until the swinging stopped._

_Karla's merry giggling turned into horrified sobs. _

_She was seven now, and had barely seen her aunt in the last few months. Now that she could see her aunt, Karla wished she hadn't. _

_They had told her cancer had taken her auntie. Karla had demanded to know why it could not give her back. _

_No one could answer her. _

_"No!" Karla cried. She reached out for her aunt, but hands of iron clamped around her shoulder, keeping her in place. "Tia! Tia Esperanza!"_

_The box closed over her aunt's sweet, still face. _

_Those iron hands turned her around, and she now was looking at eyes made of fire. _

_"Be quiet," her father growled out at her. _

_A fowl stench rolled off her father's tongue and slapped Karla across her face. The horrible smell scared her. _

_She quieted. _

_"Better," her father said. "Now will you continue to embarrass me?" _

_Karla shook her head. _

_"Good," he grunted. _

_The man plastered a respectfully mournful look on his face and went to talk to some other people. Karla sat heavily in her chair and observed her father behind blonde bangs. _

_Her father smiled when appropriate, forced controlled words out, kept his hands from shaking, and turned his fowl smelling mouth from people's noses. Her father knew how to play the part. Her father was strong, Karla decided. If he could hide his feelings, why couldn't she?_

_Taking in a shaky breath, Karla set her face to one of blank apathy, straightened her spine, and arranged her hands neatly in her lap. _

_Tears sprang up in her eyes, and Karla fought them back. She had to be strong. Strong like her father. _

_She clenched her hands into tight fists until pain flared up in her palms. Karla squeezed harder for the pain in her hands was much more manageable than the pain in her chest. _

_When her father came back for her hours later, Karla was still sitting. There was no sign of her tears. _

_Her father nodded once as if in approval. "Come."_

_Something light beat inside her chest, and she scampered off the chair and after her father. _

_Karla replayed the simple nod she had received from her father in her mind; it was the closest thing to a compliment her father had ever given her. She never noticed that the horrid stench from her father had gotten stronger. _

_"Don't fall behind," her father snapped. _

_Karla had to jog to catch up, but just when she was about to grab her father's hand, she suddenly found herself walking into her second grade classroom. It was only two days after the funeral. She had not wanted to go back to school so soon after Tia Esperanza's funeral, but her father would hear none of it. _

_She stumbled into class, bleary with sleep. _

_"Good morning," Miss Cashion said. _

_Karla turned to answer, but her foot got caught on the bottom of her too long skirt. The girl tumbled forward, and a hand came out to catch her. _

_Karla cried out in pain when the hand closed around her forearm. She did not remember the next few seconds, but she later found herself sitting against the teacher's desk and her jacket removed to show her bare arms. _

_"Karla," Miss Cashion said slowly. "Where did you get these bruises?"_

_Karla looked down to see the myriad of bruises that littered her arms. Miss Cashion was staring at one in particular that looked distinctly like fingers. _

_"I—"_

Tell the truth_, Tia Esperanza's voice whispered in the back of her mind. _

_"Daddy was teaching me a lesson," Karla said, remembering her father's words from last night, or at least the words she could pick out from all his slurring. "I was bad."_

_Karla hung her head in shame. _

_When Miss Cashion did not answer right away, Karla looked up and saw a deep frown that marred her usually kind face. _

_"Am I in trouble?" Karla asked hesitantly. _

_Miss Cashion shook her head. "Not at all, sweetheart."_

_She handed Karla back her jacket and told her to take her seat. _

_Later that night, her father smelled funny again. _

_He slapped her many times, but Karla did not say anything until the men in blue barged into their house and grabbed at her father. _

_"What did you say?" her father yelled at her along with many other words she did not know. Two of the men in blue wrestled her father out the door and into their black car. "What did you say?"_

_"Papa, Papa." Karla reached out for her father, but a man in blue held her back. _

_Karla opened her mouth and screamed. _

_She would later find herself sitting in an unfamiliar room. The men in blue told her many things there. _

_They had come because the neighbors had reported sounds of glass breaking. _

_They said Miss Cashion had reported the bruises on Karla's arms. _

_They said something about "domestic violence."_

_They finally stopped telling her things and asked if she had any questions. _

_Karla looked up at them. Her eyes were dry, but something inside her broke. _

_"When can I see Papa?"_

_A chilling laugh sounded behind her, and Karla whirled in her seat. _

_For a moment, she had thought the laugh had been her father's, but the dark man behind her was not her father. _

_"So this is your greatest fear?" the man in the black robes said. _

_Karla turned back around, but the men in blue where gone, leaving her alone with this strange man. She bolted out of her seat and ran to the door. She jiggled the knob, but it stuck fast. _

_"There is no escape from this, my dear Karla," the dark man said. _

_Karla pressed her back to the door and faced the man in black. _

_"Where is my dad?" Karla demanded. She narrowed her eyes and tried to look fierce. Her lower lips quivered._

_"Trying to be brave?" the man sneered. "Trying to be strong like daddy dearest? Oh Karla, he's never coming back."_

_The brave face crumpled. Karla sobbed and fell to the ground. _

_A hand stroked her cheek. _

_"You loved him, didn't you? Despite everything he did to you? It was because you feared losing the last of your family, isn't it? He was all you had left."_

_Karla looked up at the dark man. Was it just her imagination or did he get bigger?_

_"That's it," the man purred. "Give me your fear."_

_Karla sobbed again, and this time, she let the tears fall. _

_The dark man made a noise like he was enjoying a great banquet. _

"Karla!"_ a voice called out so faintly, she almost did not hear it. _"Karla."

_Her head jerked up, her eyes darting around the room, but there was only the Boogeyman, his eyes closed as he enjoyed his feast. _

"Karla!"

_"Jack?" Karla whispered. _

_The dark man choked as if a bone got lodged in his throat. _

"Hey! Don't forget your number one annoying buddy!"_ another voice piped up._

_"Kyle?" Karla added. _

_The dark man stared down at her in shock. _

_"What are you doing?" the man asked, but Karla could tell the question was not directed at her. _

"You may have gathered fear while I was gone, but you're still not at your best, Pitch,"_ Jack's voice answered. _"Did you really think you could take on all five Guardians?"

_Pitch leapt to his feet just as the walls of the police office began to crumble. _

_"No!" the Nightmare King screeched. "This is my nightmare, Sanderson. You have no power here."_

_In answer, the walls disintegrated faster. _

_The Nightmare King screamed, and black turned to gold. _

_It was mercifully quiet for a minute or two with no light or sound. _

_Eventually Karla realized her eyes were squeezed shut, and she blinked open her eyes to find herself in a deserted playground. _

_She was eight now and completely alone. _

_Karla sat totally still on the swing set with her back straight and hands folded, same as the day they had buried Tia Esperanza. _

_The winter wind blew though the playground, and Karla resisted the urge to shiver. She did not like Burgess, but she hardly had any choice in the matter when the social worker had dropped her off at her foster parent's house. _

_"Be a good girl," the lady had said. "The Leung family is very nice. I'm sure they will love you."_

_Karla refused to answer. She already had parents; she did not need foster ones. _

_"Are you going to swing?"_

_Karla looked up, and found a boy with hair and eyes the same rich, chocolate brown staring back at her. _

_"I'm waiting for Papa," Karla said. She straitened her spine and hoped the boy would get the hint. _

_He didn't. _

_"Are you going to swing?"_

_"You can use the other ones," Karla pointed out. _

_"I know. I wasn't asking so I could use it. It's just... The swing looks so sad with someone sitting on it, but not swinging on it. I mean, it's even in the name. You swing on a swing."_

_"Swings don't have feeling," Karla said. _

_"How do you know?" the boy shot back. _

_"Because they just don't. Leave me alone."_

_The boy pouted, but turned away. _

_"It's much more fun if you're swinging," he yelled over his shoulder. _

_Karla did her best to ignore him and smoothed our imaginary wrinkles in her clothing. She was so concentrated on keeping her back ramrod straight that she almost did not hear the patter of running feet. By the time she did, it was too late. _

_Something solid slammed into her back, and suddenly she was flying. _

_She let out a surprised yelp and held on to the chain link of the swing. _

_"What are you doing?" Karla yelled down at the brown-haired boy who kept pushing her higher and higher. _

_"See? It's more fun this way," he shouted back at her. _

"_You're crazy!" she yelled down at him. _

_The boy grinned. "So everyone keeps telling me."_

"_Let me down!"_

"_Nah-uh."_

"_Let me down now!"_

_The boy did not respond this time, but merely focused on his pushing. _

_Eventually, Karla got tired of shouting at the boy to let her down. She even punched him once, but that only seemed to make him more determined to get her higher into the air. _

_Karla contemplated jumping, but the idea sent her stomach rolling, so she shut her eyes, telling herself the boy had to get tired some time. _

_In her dark world, she was suddenly flying. She went up; her spine loosened. She went down; the little, mean boys calling her mama a slut went silent. Up; the image of Tia Esperanza's box disappeared from her mind. Down; she could no longer remember that fowl stench that colored her father's breath. Up. Down. Again and again. _

_She did not mean to start laughing, but at some point, her ponytail had come loose and the tickling hairs made her giggle. _

_The boy laughed right along with her, and underneath it, Karla swore she could hear Tia Esperanza's laugh too. _

_His name was Jack. _

_And the day that she met him, her life changed._

_Being the incredibly friendly and adventurous boy that he was, Jack took her everywhere. _

_He introduced her to a redhead. _

_"Jack," the ginger boy whined. "Girls have cooties."_

_Karla punched him for that comment, and it was the start of another beautiful friendship. _

_Jack pushed her towards the shy brunette girl. _

_"Your hair would look pretty braided," the girl said. _

_Karla told her she did not know how to braid hair. _

_That day, she went home with a golden braid hanging over one shoulder and a promise from the brunette that she would teach Karla how to do it herself later. _

_Jack even walked her home some times. _

_"I just made cookies," Mrs. Leung said. "Come and take a plate for your family."_

_Not about to let free cookies slip through his fingers, Jack stepped into the house, saying over his shoulder, "You have pretty cool parents."_

_Karla was about to correct Jack—they were not her real parents—but the words froze on her lips. She simply nodded instead. _

_It was many years later and many adventures later. Karla came home to find her foster parents seated at the dining table. Her foster parents only sat at that table during the afternoon for one reason. _

_"Karla honey, we want to talk," Mrs. Leung said. _

_Karla sat down opposite her foster parents, going through her recent memories to see if there was something she did that was punishment-worthy. _

_"What's this about?" Karla asked cautiously. _

_Mr. Leung slid something in front of Karla. _

_Karla stared wide-eyed at the paper. The heading spoke for itself. _

_"It's your decision," Mr. Leung said. _

_There was a count of ten before Karla snapped into action. She all but ran out of the room, avoiding her foster parents' eyes, but not forgetting to grab the paper from the table. She flipped out her phone before she reached her room and barely managed to dial the number with trembling fingers. _

_He picked up after the first ring. _

_"What's up?" Jack's voice sounded from the other side of the line. _

_"I—I need—please, Jack," Karla stuttered. _

_"I'll be over in two minutes."_

_Before Karla could protest, Jack had hung up and was knocking at her door. _

_That afternoon was the quietest Karla had ever seen Jack. She laid out her entire story for the first time ever. She finished her story by showing Jack the paper. _

_"What should I do?" Karla asked. _

_Jack blinked at her in surprise. "Why ask me?" _

_"Because you always have the answer!" Karla wanted to scream at him, but she only shook her head, torn. _

_Arms encircled her in a warm hug. _

_"I only know one thing for certain about all this," Jack murmured. "You're so brave. You don't need me to tell you anything."_

_Karla nodded her head as she listened to Jack's steady heartbeat, gripping the adoption papers with a new sense of hope. _

_That night, Karla officially became a Leung, cutting all ties to the man she had once called "Papa."_

_That night, Karla finally arrived home._

* * *

When Karla opened her eyes again in that dark cavern, she and the Boogeyman were in the same exact position they had been when her vision had gone dark, so Karla wondered if any time had passed at all. She shifted and golden sand fell from her like fairy dust.

Pitch still had a grip on her chin, but it hardly bothered her any more.

"Let me go, Pitch," Karla commanded steadily.

"Trying to brave? To be strong like daddy?" Pitch sneered. "I thought you would have learned by now, Karla. That won't work."

"I know that," Karla said. Pitch frowned at her as if just starting to realize that he no longer had a grip on her fear. "I think instead I'll try to be strong like Jack Frost."

At the boy's name, Pitch's hand switched from her chin to her throat. He did not squeeze hard enough to cut off her air, but the threat was there and very real.

Karla could hear cries of outrage, and something—something _sharp_—pressed against her throat.

"Don't came any nearer," Pitch warned his onlookers.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Karla saw Jack falter in his approach.

Pitch noted everyone's hesitation with grim satisfaction.

Karla almost snorted at that. She needed no rescuer, not this time.

"Ever played hot potato?" Karla asked the Nightmare King.

Pitch switched his gaze back to Karla, confusion flickering across his face.

"I wonder if you're any good," Karla continued. "Only one way to find out."

Her left hand opened and revealed an ice bomb, her thumb already on the trigger. Not giving Pitch time to register what it was, she tossed it up into his face.

"This is my family," Karla said, using her free hand to sweep out towards Jack and Kyle. "Stay away from them."

Ice exploded between them.

Someone screamed. It might have been her or Kyle or Pitch. Perhaps it was all three of them.

Karla flew backwards and the still barely conscious part of her brain registered that she landed on something soft.

"Got ya, sheila," a voice said above her. "Crickey, are all of you as reckless as Jack?"

"Must of rubbed off on me some time ago," Karla muttered. Her teeth chattered. The oversized rabbit began rubbing her skin, and she nearly punched him for it. She did not like being touched, especially by mythical, creepy rodents. She tried to raise her hands to bat the rabbit away, but they refused to obey. It was then that she realized the Easter Bunny was trying to get her warm.

She glanced down and saw that ice covered her entire front half.

"You'll be lucky if you only get minor frostbite," Bunny muttered.

"Here," a deep voice said. A heavy red coat dropped into her lap, and Bunny wasted no time in bundling her up.

A yell caught Karla's attention, and she looked over to see Kyle throwing his ice bombs at lightning speed.

Pitch seemed to be having trouble fending off Kyle. Maybe it was because of all the ice in his eyes from Karla's attack.

"Pitch!" a young voice shouted.

Jack.

Karla strained to see him.

Jack flew at the Nightmare King, his staff raised.

"This ends now!"

Jack landed in front of Pitch, slamming his staff into the ground, and the whole world froze.

* * *

**I hope the movement of the timeline wasn't too confusing. I was trying something new.**

**One more chapter to go people! Thanks again!**

**Answers to anonymous reviews:**

**Guest (1): **Yep, Kyle and Karla are for sure going to be some trouble for the Boogeyman. Thanks for the review!

**Guest (2): **I can see what you mean by the repetitive bit. Unfortunately, that's what happens when I try to force/stretch a story, but I'll try to be more aware of it going forward (although there's really only one more chapter left). Thanks!

**Dragonlovewater: **Wow… you seem to have strong feelings about this. Don't worry. Most of the Jack-whumpage is done for now… Thanks for all the reviews!

**Guest (3 and 4?): **Thank you so much! Here's the update and sorry that it took so long.

**~playing-in-the-mud**


	14. Epilogue: Blood that Runs Strong

**Epilogue – Blood that Runs Strong**

* * *

Jack wiped a hand across the smooth surface of the ice until he had a clear window to view the Nightmare King frozen in his icy prison.

Pitch had managed to get most of the ice from Karla's bomb out of his eyes, so Jack could see the expression of shock on his face. It would have been comical if not for the ugly snarl just beginning to form on his lips.

"What were you thinking?" an outraged voice shouted.

Jack looked over to where Kyle was currently leaning over a shivering Karla.

"I told you that you needed to throw the bomb and then get away from the blast or else... or else..." Kyle made a frustrated gesture at Karla's ice-covered body.

"It's kind of hard to get away when someone has a death grip on your throat," Karla snapped back.

Jack sighed.

Apparently not even frostbite could temper Karla's sharp and ready tongue.

"Besides Jack was in the middle of a blast. Why don't you go yell at him?" Karla griped.

"He's the freaking Spirit of the freaking Winter, Karls. I think that—I don't know—makes him immune to the ice and cold!" Kyle shot back.

"Yeah, well. I had to do something," Karla said. "And I didn't see anyone else volunteering."

"Hello! Remember the knife against your neck?"

"Are they always like this?" Bunny asked Jack as he made his way over to where everyone was gathering.

"All day, everyday," Jack confirmed.

"Oh, don't think you're out of a lecture, Frost-boy. We're all still pretty pissed about your little drowning-in-the-lake stunt," Karla said.

"What?" several of the other Guardians shouted at the same time.

"That wasn't my fault," Jack protested.

"And the knife at my neck was not _my_ fault," Karla concurred.

"Wait hold up," Bunny said. "What's this about Frost drowning again?"

"Again?" Karla screeched. Then it turned into a fit of body-racking coughs that rattled in Karla's lungs.

"Well, that's it, sheila," Bunny announced. He hefted her shivering body up, so that he cradled her as he stood slowly. "We're gettin' ya out of this freezer locker before ya're really in trouble."

Karla made a weak protest about being able to walk by herself, but it lost any authority when she cut herself off with another round of coughs. Masterfully ignoring any more words from the girl, Bunny took off towards the exit.

Jack almost followed Bunny, but something stopped him. A stray bit of moonlight filtered into the dank cavern and just barely brushed up against Jack's newest ice sculpture, but it was enough light to set the whole thing ablaze with light.

The frost boy grimaced as the light sculpture featured Pitch frozen in his moment of defeat. It was not a good look for the Nightmare King Jack had to admit.

"Are… are you coming, Jack?" Tooth asked, her eyes shifting between Jack and the frozen Pitch.

"What should we do about him?" Jack responded. "Keep locked in ice forever?"

"We finally have fear contained," North stated. "It is how it should be, no?"

Jack felt himself nodding even though something about North's statement did not sit right with him.

"It's kinda funny though," another voice spoke up. Kyle stretched casually although Jack suspected it was to hide his discomfort in being in Pitch' s lair. "I mean if it wasn't for the fear, I probably would not have believed in Jack Frost or the rest of you for that matter."

Kyle looked like he was going to say more, but he suddenly froze when he realized all of the remaining Guardians' eyes were fixed on him.

"Uh, I mean, uh… What do I know? I've only known the creep for a few hours. And I already hate his guts," Kyle muttered lamely. "Let's get out of here."

North nodded sagely as he eyed the walls of the cavern distrustfully. "Ay. Boy is right. We should not linger here for much longer. The girl—Karla—will need to be looked at too."

Jack started to follow everyone else's exit, but again, his feet hesitated.

"Jack?" North turned towards the white-haired boy, a hand raised as if he meant to help Jack out of the cave, but another body flew in front of the Guardian of Wonder.

"Sandy?" North questioned.

The eldest Guardian shook his head, gently forcing North's outstretched hand down.

"It's all right, North," Jack called out when he finally realized what was making him hesitate. "I just need a moment."

Sandy locked eyes with Jack and nodded. _Do what you need to do, child._

Jack dipped his head in return, receiving the unspoken message. He also turned and gave a tiny nod to Kyle as a silent thank you.

The other teen just gave a barely distinguishable snort that sounded a little more embarrassed than condescending.

It was not until Sandy had herded the others out of the main room that Jack turned towards Pitch.

As Jack approached the frozen enemy, he heard the nightmares appear out of their hiding places although they did not dare approached the moonlit area, no matter how weak that light was.

Gently, Jack placed a hand on the frozen surface, and a nightmare whinnied nervously.

"Easy, girl," Jack reassured.

He turned back to the ice and considered the words Kyle never said, but that were clearly written in his eyes.

_What good is light if there is no darkness for it to come out of?_

Taking a deep breath and refusing to reconsider his decision any more, Jack brought up his other hand and shattered the ice with his staff.

His staff met no resistance. He might as well have plowed a truck into it, but _careful, careful _he told his powers. The ice exploded outwards, eliciting more nervous cries from the remnants of Pitch's army.

Jack barely had to whisper a word before a breeze whisked past him and caught the body before it could smash into the stone floor below.

_Easy, gentle, _Jack spoke to the Wind, and it obeyed.

Pitch's body was lowered slowly to the ground as a mother would to her child.

Jack crouched over the body of his enemy and saw that Pitch was breathing steadily as if in a deep, content slumber.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Jack muttered to the prone figure.

Jack stood, and the nightmares shifted uneasily in the darkness.

"Don't worry," Jack told them. "I won't do anything. Just take care of him until he wakes up."

The restless shuffling gradually died down, and a lone mare trotted out into the light. She flared her nostrils and screamed at Jack.

The frost boy back away from her master, and she came forward to sniff the body. Finding nothing wrong, she turned her head towards Jack, her eyes narrowed.

"Tell Pitch if he tries anything like this again, he'll have the Guardians to deal with," Jack said.

The nightmare pawed the ground and tossed her proud head as if to say, _Bring it on, young Guardian!_

Jack nodded and then turned away, but not before the nightmare nickered at him.

Risking one more look over his shoulder, Jack saw the mare bow her great head towards him. He saw those familiar, burning eyes fix on him, and for once they were not filled with that consuming fear or hatred, but instead just the tiniest bit of respect.

But then it was gone, and the mare snorted indignantly. _Get out of here, you twig of a boy, before I make mincemeat of you with my hooves. _

Jack gave her a lopsided grin and a mock salute before the Wind wrapped its child up in its arms and flew him back up to the moon-kissed lands.

* * *

"Minor frostbite and burns. Her jacket and Bunny's quick work saved her from any permanent or worse damage. Everything else… nothing a little magic could not handle. She will be fine after good rest."

"Thanks, North," Jack sighed.

"'Tis nothing," the man in red huffed. "Anything for friend of friend."

"Let's go home, eh mates?" Bunny announced as he stretched his arms above his head pointedly. "It's been one wild ride of a day. Don't know about the rest of ya, but I'm tuckered out."

The Guardians turned away from the house where they had dropped off the humans, but Jack hung back.

Sandy caught the eye of their youngest. Golden sand formed North's sleigh and then a question mark.

"Nah, thanks for the offer, but I think I'll stick to my Winds and just cruise." Jack caught sight of his fellow Guardians' worried expressions and added, "Come on, guys. I can take care of myself. And I won't be alone."

To confirm his words, the Wind gusted through the group for just a second, and at Jack's shoulder, Baby Tooth chirped as she placed a reassuring hand on Jack's cheek.

"Still, Frost," Bunny spoke for the group. "That hasn't been worked out so well in the recent past."

"Pitch is out of commission," Jack reassured, rolling his eyes. "I just need time… to get things together by myself."

He emphasized that last part. Still the older Guardians did not so confident.

"I'll visit soon," Jack promised. "Let me… let me just say goodbye without you guys hanging over my shoulder."

Finally, the Guardians softened.

"Very well," North consented. "Just be careful, yes? You are still not at best."

Tooth rushed in for a hug and squeezed him within an inch of his life. "Keep Baby Tooth close. We'll see you soon."

"Of course," Jack wheezed when she eventually released him. "We'll be seeing each other sooner than you think."

A hand clapped Jack on his shoulder, and the boy looked up to see Bunny with his usual annoyed look.

"Still waitin' for that apology," he grunted.

Jack laughed. "You'll be waiting a long time then. You know, you were _very _creepy stalking me like that."

Bunny grumbled, shooting Jack dirty looks, but gave his shoulder one extra squeeze as if he were unwilling to let Jack go even if it was only for a little while.

With the last of goodbyes done among the Guardians, Jack watched them all pile into North's sleigh and take off. There was no sadness in this parting, only a promise of future reunions. Jack hoped some of the goodbyes he knew he would have to be saying soon would be just as bittersweet. Well, no better time like the present to find out.

Turning, Jack entered the quiet house that held his friends.

Christina and James were asleep together on one couch, while Karla was stretched out on the other with a blanket tucked carefully around her resting body.

"Hey," a soft voice spoke in the darkness.

Jack turned and saw Kyle sitting on his stairway. Carefully tiptoeing to his friend, Jack lowered himself onto one of the steps.

"Is this goodbye then?" Kyle asked, getting right to the point.

Jack shrugged. "Doesn't have to be. Keep believing in me and I'll make sure to drop in every once in a while."

Kyle snorted, "Is it selfish of me to wish you're not this Frost character so I can keep you here with us?"

"Aw, Kyle. Love you too," Jack teased.

"I'm serious, Jack. You know how fickle and unfocused I can be. What if I just wake up one day and don't remember my best friend? I don't want to lose you like that, and I… I don't want to do that to you. I've already done that."

The silly smile slipped off Jack's face, and he turned to face Kyle.

"Jack, I really am sorry that I didn't believe in you before," Kyle continued.

"I don't know what's going to happen," Jack sighed. "Adults aren't really supposed to believe in us. I had accepted that before… everything happened with becoming human and stuff, but now having known you, having a human family… I guess, I'll just have to have a little belief too."

"As much as I want to give you my word, I can't give you much of a guarantee," Kyle spoke honestly.

"Neither can Karla and Christina or even James for that matter," Jack said carelessly, trying to make light of the situation, but he could not quite cover the sadness in his eyes.

Kyle suddenly grabbed the front of Jack's jacket and pulled him roughly into a hug. They stayed like that for a moment until Kyle spoke again, "It's not much, but I hope that will do for now."

"It's fine," Jack said, standing.

He moved to where his brother was still sleeping on the couch.

"Jack."

Jack paused and looked back at Kyle who was now standing as well.

"I will be seeing you soon," Kyle promised with finality. "If not forever, at least soon."

When he went to go pick up James, he accidentally jostled Christina, waking her.

"Jack?" she slurred. Her eyes flew open and she noted that Kyle and Karla were also back. "Is everything all right? Is Pitch—"

"Pitch won't be bothering you or any of us," Jack interrupted her.

"Are you going home?" she asked.

"I'm taking James back."

"And then?"

Jack shrugged. "The world," he said vaguely.

He went to pick James again, but stopped when he heard sniffling.

"Chris…" He reached out to the crying girl, unsure about what to do.

"Some Guardian you are, making girls cry," Kyle scoffed. "Hey, buck up, Chrissie. Jack's promised to visit."

"Sorry," Christina managed between the hiccups and attempts at smiles. "I just don't like goodbyes."

"Hey, come here." Jack brought her into a hug. "Don't think of it as a goodbye. Just a 'see you later.'"

Christina nodded into his chest.

"Don't leave without giving me a hug," another voice piped up.

The three teens looked over to where Karla was awake on her couch. Karla attempted to sit up, but she must have still been aching, for she stopped short with a hiss of pain.

"What's wrong with you?" Christina asked, immediately coming up to her friend's side.

"Just an accident with an ice bomb," Karla said flippantly. She brushed off Christina and yanked Jack into a fierce hug.

"Goodb—"

"Nope. Don't say it," Karla scoffed. "Didn't you just say this isn't a goodbye?"

Jack chuckled as he pulled away. "Well, if this isn't goodbye, then I'll just take my bro and—"

"Wait!" Christina screeched so loud Jack was surprised that she did not wake James.

The brunette flew at Jack, tackling him at his waste, and they both fell on a heap on top of Karla.

"Just one more," the girl said as Kyle came to join the group hug.

Jack breathed in the warmth of their friendship and tried desperately to hold onto the feeling.

Getting James home was easy with the Wind's help. Letting go of him…

Jack held his little brother to his chest, watching the younger boy sleep peacefully.

Eventually, Jack laid James down in his own bed and turned, intent on spending one last night in his own room, but a whimper stopped him.

"James, it's just me. You can go to sleep," Jack whispered.

"Stay with me?" James asked.

Jack nodded and set his staff down against James's nightstand.

"You've got to scoot over, bud."

James complied, and the two brothers squished onto the small bed.

"Sorry, but I'm not going to be much good keeping you warm," Jack apologized.

"You're fine," James replied.

Jack was just about to drift to sleep when James spoke up again, "Jack? You'll be here when I wake up, right?"

"Of course."

"Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise."

* * *

Jack stood in front of his father's study door.

He remembered being a child in this household and the many rules that applied to this door: knock if it is important, do not disturb if it is not, and do not under any circumstance go in without permission.

Jack recalled the one time he had broken that rule and colored in several of the books he had found in dad's study. His backside still ached from the sound punishment he had gotten for that. Ever since then, he had never dared to break those rules again. The house could be burning down around him and the study could be the only safe place, and Jack would still not go into the study.

He did not bother to knock this time. Jack figured being a four hundred and something winter immortal kind of made that rule null and void for him.

Jack had already tried with his mother earlier this afternoon, and as expected, she walked right through him. It hurt of course. Jack had expected that, but he needed to know—to experience it for himself. He had declined James's offer to try and convince their parents. Maybe later, but Jack first needed to face the reality that he was once again a Guardian.

As much as he loved his human family, he had taken that oath all those years ago, and his first responsibility were the children he protected.

Jack twisted the door handle and pushed gently. The heavy door swung open with a small creak. The winter child stepped inside and faced his father.

"What have I told you kids?"

His father did not even look up when he said it. He was focused on some document in front of him; his glasses perched precariously on his nose.

Jack did not answer, but simply waited for his father to notice something amiss.

It did not take long.

Mr. Bennett eventually looked up, a disapproving frown on his face, but it froze awkwardly on his face when he noticed the open door. Jack caught his breath when he thought his father looked at him, but then released it in a disappointed sigh when Mr. Bennett took off his glasses and let his gaze slip past to where the door hung ajar.

Mr. Bennett grunted as he pushed himself out of his seat and walked past Jack to close the door once more.

Jack tried to fight down the bitterness in his throat and turned toward the window, intending to make that his escape route.

A firm hand slapped down on Jack's shoulder, and the teenager whirled in alarm, his staff going up on instinct.

The top of his staff caught his father on the chin with a loud smack.

Mr. Bennett gave a shout of surprise, and his hand on his Jack's shoulder disappeared and came up to rub his jaw.

"Nice reflexes," Mr. Bennett gasped, steady himself on his large oak desk.

"Man in the moon," Jack said. "Sorry, Dad. I didn't expect…"

Jack trailed off, meeting his father's eyes. His father's warm brown eyes met Jack's.

"You—you touched me," Jack stammered. "You can see me?"

"What kind of father would I be if I couldn't see you?" Mr. Bennett asked.

Jack looked away, a lump growing in his throat.

Mr. Bennett frowned, sensing Jack's sadness.

"Your mother can't see, can she?" he asked.

Jack shook his head, white-hair shadowing his eyes.

"Oh, Jack," Mr. Bennett sighed, laying his hand on his son's shoulder again. "You know it's not really her fault?"

Jack nodded. "I know. It's just…" Jack did not know how to finish the sentence, so he decided to skip around the topic. "But how can you see me?"

His father looked like a little kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar as he shuffled from one foot to the other. He nodded his head towards the couch that sat against one of the walls in his study, and Jack obediently sat down on it, his father joining him.

Jack studied his father, while his father stared back, no doubt taking in the unfamiliarity of the white hair and blue eyes. Mr. Bennett seemed certainly intrigued, but not at all surprised.

"You know who I am—who I really am. Did you always know?" Jack asked.

Mr. Bennett gave a short bark of laughter. "No," he said. "I didn't know until you walked into the this room a few minutes ago, which, by the way, you know you're supposed to knock before entering."

Jack shrugged unapologetically.

"Did I ever tell you why we named you Jack in the first place?" Mr. Bennett asked.

Jack shrugged again. "Fate?"

"It was your great-grandfather, Jamie Bennett, who named you," Mr. Bennett stated.

Jack glanced up at the name. He had known that this Bennett family was directly from Jamie's line, but the information had been temporarily sidelined with everything else happening. Jack let it sink in that he was now, in a way, related to his first believer.

"He was the first one to hold you after your mother and I," Mr. Bennett continued. "We placed you in his arms, and the first thing you did was laugh like it was most hilarious thing ever. Grandpa Jamie laughed right along with you and told us you had Jack's laugh."

Jack smiled, imagining a grandfatherly Jamie holding the baby his father described.

"The name stuck," Mr. Bennett finished. "I, of course, knew which Jack Grandpa J was referring too. Maybe it was kind of fate that we'd give you your own name."

"Still doesn't explain how you can see me," Jack said. "Adults aren't supposed to see us."

"Grandpa J could always see you all," Mr. Bennett countered.

Jack's smile widened, his eyes misting over with fond memories only he could see. "Yeah, Jamie was stubborn. I kept warning him he'd lose his faith in me. All children eventually do, but he argued right back he'd never forget his best friend, and he never did. It was the greatest gift he ever gave me."

"It's weird hearing you talk about Grandpa J like that," Mr. Bennett said. "I mean, you still look young, but you talking like that ages you."

"Not you too," Jack groaned. He swore he could hear Kyle cackling somewhere.

"Not 'me too' what?" Mr. Bennett asked.

"Nothing," Jack grumbled, waving it aside.

Mr. Bennett gave Jack a weird look, but continued, "Anyways, to answer your question about why I can see you, I'd like to think I'd inherited quite a lot from my Grandpa J. I grew up hearing the stories of the Guardians, and there was nothing like hearing Grandpa J tell a story." Mr. Bennett gave Jack a childish grin. "He made you feel like you were living the story rather than just hearing it. And I met you once when I was still a kid. Remember that?"

"Memory's a little fuzzy with everything that's been going on," Jack said with a little shake of his head. "I'll probably remember it later."

Mr. Bennett patted Jack's shoulder. "You were visiting Grandpa J and I caught you two talking. You spent the entire day with me. It's kind of hard to forget a day like that."

"What we'd do that was so memorable?" Jack questioned eagerly.

Mr. Bennett's eyes twinkled. "I'll let you remember that for yourself. It's a little too spectacular for words."

Jack pouted slightly although its effect was lost since the corners of his mouth kept twitching upwards.

"So with that memorable day with you permanently ingrained in my head, you might imagine my wonder watching you grow up as my son," Mr. Bennett said. "Each day, you looked more and more like… well, you. I did not put two and two together until you were standing right in front of me a moment ago, but seeing you like this… I just knew you were one and the same."

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and added, "Didn't expect the whack to the face though."

Jack winced. "Accident," he stated. "I didn't expect you to actually see me. Sorry."

"So answer something for me," Mr. Bennett said. "How are you my son and Jack Frost?"

"You know my birthmark? The one on my right shoulder?" And so Jack started with that—how the birthmark was not really a birthmark. He told his father how he always believed in the Guardians, meeting Baby Tooth one night, and the random visits from the Guardians who kept claiming he was Jack Frost. He told of his disbelief and the powers that manifested soon afterwards, about Pitch Black and the fight, and finally of the victory over the nightmares.

Mr. Bennett never interrupted and just let his son tell the story. When Jack finished, Mr. Bennett just nodded as if he known it all along.

"You're taking this all very well," Jack commented.

Mr. Bennett gave his son a sardonic smile. "Like I said, Bennett genes run strong in me. Magic stuff hardly surprises me, but my son being Jack Frost." He shook his head, his face finally showing some of his disbelief. "It's probably going to hit me hard later. It does explain Jack Frost's disappearance for these past 17 or 18 years, but I watched your mother give birth to you and you grow up in this house…"

Jack's face scrunched up in a pained look. "Ew, Dad. Don't talk about _that."_

"What?" his father asked innocently although his eyes twinkled with mischievous light. "Birth is a natural part of—"

"I am not having the talk with you," Jack groaned. "I'm technically older than you, you know."

"But you're still my son," Mr. Bennett pointed out.

Jack's body warmed at that statement. "Yeah."

They were silent for a moment before Mr. Bennett brought up the question that weighed down on the both of them.

"So what will you do now?"

Jack gripped his staff tightly and found things to look at besides his father's face.

"I took an oath a long time ago," Jack began slowly. "You probably know that I'm a Guardian. And being gone for so long… There's a lot I need to put back in order. The other Guardians have been keeping the children believing in me while I was gone, which makes some things a lot easier, but there's still so much to fix. I need to get to it soon."

Jack bit his lip uncertainly and forced himself to look at his father. "I have to leave."

Before Jack could open his mouth to apologize, he found himself in a tight embrace.

"Dad?" Jack asked.

Mr. Bennett began to rub his hands along Jack's back, squeezing him all the more fiercely as if he were going to disappear into the wind at any moment.

"I had just convinced myself the other day that I didn't need to worry about you because you still had two years until college, and that gave me two more years for me to keep an eye on you," Mr. Bennett murmured.

Jack released his hold in his staff, letting it fall softly to the ground, and brought up both arms to return the hug. They stayed like that for a moment with Jack just being Jack Bennett and nothing more.

"But you need to go," Mr. Bennett said at last. "I can't keep you here."

Jack nodded, picking up his staff again.

"What about Mom? She can't see me, so how do explain her oldest son just vanishing?"

"Let me worry about that," Mr. Bennett said. "You have enough to worry about."

"Think she'll ever believe?"

"Time will tell," Mr. Bennett state simply. "It'll be hard for her, but I don't really see any way around this one."

"You can ask my friends to back you up, and James," Jack suggested.

"You'll come back, right?" Mr. Bennett asked.

"Of course." Jack grinned. "I'll try to come back in a week or so. Give you some magical back up if mom still doesn't believe."

"Hopefully, it won't take that long," Mr. Bennett muttered. "She might call the police if she still doesn't believe me by then."

"Here, can you give this to Mom for me?"

Jack held out his hand, and ice swirled in a mini cyclone until it solidified into an ice rose. He handed it to his father, and Mr. Bennett accepted it delicately.

"It won't melt," Jack explained.

"I'll be sure she gets it." Mr. Bennett squeezed Jack's arm. "Your room will be waiting for you whenever you need it. Just because you're some big shot winter spirit, don't make yourself a stranger. And _when _your mother believes, I'm sure that she'll want you to come home for the holidays."

"I will be back; don't worry," Jack promised. "I've made sure Burgess gets plenty of snow ever since Jamie, and if I did have a base, it would be here. It's not too much of a coincidence I was reborn here. Burgess has always been my home."

"Is it possible to get some extra snowfall this year?" Mr. Bennett asked. "I'll consider it my Christmas present for this year."

"Deal," Jack laughed. "Oh, Bunny's going to be pissed."

"Bunny? As in the Easter Bunny?"

Jack's eyes gleamed. "I'll introduce you to him sometime. Bunny has a soft spot for the Bennett family as well. And now that his favorite winter spirit is an official member, I'm sure he won't be able to stay away."

A childish light sparked in Mr. Bennett's eyes, and he leaned over once again to give his son a final hug.

"Later then?" he asked the white-haired teen. "I'll see you later."

"Of course, Dad," Jack murmured into his ear. "If… if you ever need me, give a message to the Wind. The Wind will make sure I'll get it. I'll never be too far away."

Mr. Bennett finally let go of his eldest son and together they walked over to the office window. Jack unlatched the lock, and the Wind blew it open, eager to ride with its child once more.

Jack turned and gave his father a pensive look.

"What?" Mr. Bennett asked. He looked down at himself, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"It's nothing," Jack laughed. "It's just…" He paused and cocked his head to one side, his eyes sparkling with mischief and something else. "It's just that humans like to think that things like me and the Easter Bunny are unbelievable, but then there's people like you, Jamie, James… You guys are pretty unbelievable yourself."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Mr. Bennett said with a laugh.

"I'll see you soon, Dad. Promise," Jack said.

With a final wave and a bright smile, Jack turned towards the outside and called out, "Wind, take me anywhere!"

* * *

A teenager, no older than seventeen and with a shock of white hair, stood in front of the stone marker.

It had been only a week since the return of Jack Frost and there was still so much work to be done, but the blue-eyed boy had a few moments to spend for his first believer and forever friend.

Carved into the stone's face were the words: _Jamie Bennett; Beloved Husband, Father, and Friend; Always a Believer._

The teen smiled fondly at the grave and brushed his fingers over its smooth surface. Delicate and intricate patterns began to cover stone's surface until it looked like a work of art rather than a marker of death.

The Spirit of Winter spent only a few more minutes by the grave before he moved on, ready to continue his work.

The only things to tell of his presence were the slightly colder air beside the tomb and bright pink sticky note firmly placed on the front of the stone.

It read:

_Dear Jamie,  
I love you too.  
Your great-grandson and friend,  
Jack_

* * *

**The End**

* * *

**And with that, I bid you a very fond farewell. I cannot express the intensity of my gratitude for all of you who have read/reviewed/followed/favorited. You have all made this a pleasure to write. **

**So one more surprise for you all… MissiriKoharehn had requested an alternate ending where Pitch wins. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up, so I did actually write a short AE. I'm not sure if I want to actually post it because it's just so different from the rest of this story. So for now, let me know if you would like to read it and I will send it to you, or if enough people want to see it, I will add it onto the end of this story.**

**Answers to anonymous reviews: **

**BlueManiac359: **OMG you reviewed! You actually reviewed! (Gives awkwardly enthused hug before backing away self-consciously) *ahem* I mean… thanks (timid smile, then runs away)…

**SplashSJQ: **Thanks so much! I hope you liked that ending :)

**~playing-in-the-mud**


	15. Alternate Ending: Lost Child

**Alternate Ending – Lost Child  
**For MissiriKoharehn  
(starts from Chapter 11)

**WARNING: If you are satisfied with a happy ending, do _not _read. **

* * *

_**Beneath the ice…**_

* * *

A figure appeared from the light. Jack knew he had never seen this man's face before, but he felt a sense of familiarity wash over him.

He had a round, kind face that looked both young and old at the same time. He was dressed in fine clothes, and where the other images had looked like they were made of moonlight, this man shone as if he were the moon himself.

The man did not offer the stick to Jack, but only observed it for a few seconds before affixing it into the dirt so it stood upright and stepped away from it.

"I chose you once." The man did not speak in the normal sense. His mouth did not move, but his voice vibrated through the water and penetrated Jack's mind. "But this is no longer my choice to make."

He stared intently at the staff as if it held the answer to some great mystery.

"I give the choice to you, Jack." He returned his gentle gaze to Jack. "I give you enough strength to do one of two things. Return to the surface, and I release you of your responsibilities as a Guardian. Live your life as the human you never before could. Or…" The man did not finish his sentence, but simply nodded towards the staff. "Do you understand?"

Jack nodded without hesitation. He did understand.

And with that all said, the man of the moonlight disappeared. Jack was once more plunged into darkness.

With the darkness came the reminder that Jack could not breathe underwater. The weight of the waters pressed on all sides of him and stole any remaining breath from Jack's lunges. Whatever decision Jack was going to make, he needed to make it soon.

Jack stood in front of the staff his right hand clenching and unclenching as if trying to get a feel for the staff without actually touching it. A hand came up to grab the stick, but then hesitated just inches from its surface. Jack silently growled at himself for his indecision. The choice was finally his, but he had no idea what was the right choice.

Despite being who-knows-how-many feet below the surface a sound came clear and loud through the waters. Jack whipped his head around.

_James, _Jack's lips formed the name, but his silent cry did nothing to calm his little brother's screaming.

Jack glanced back at the vague outline of the stick still stuck in the mud and made his decision.

The world dissolved into light.

* * *

Karla threw herself protectively over Kyle's prone figure, awaiting the end.

Pitch sneered at her, his weapon rose high above his head.

Although Karla knew it was a useless hope, she turned her head towards the broken ice on the lake as if Jack was going to magically appear.

No Jack.

Karla squeezed her eyes shut and prepared for the bite of metal against her skin.

A cold hand touched her, and she flinched back. One hand released its protective hold on Kyle and instinctively lashed out.

"Ow! What the heck!" a familiar voice shouted.

Karla's eyes flew open and could not comprehend the sight in front of her.

Jack was staring down at her accusingly, a hand cradling his bruising cheek. He was dripping wet, but did not seem at all concerned about it despite it being probably below zero at this time at night.

"Jack?" She dared to hope.

"The one and only," the boy grumbled.

She ignored his indignant yelp and tackled him.

"You—You idiot! Why on earth would you… you…" She looked behind him and saw the ice still broken and undisturbed. Jack had definitely fallen in. They had all seen it, so how was Jack here?

"How are you here?" she whispered in awe.

"I guess I'm a little more adapt in the cold. I found my way back up," Jack said easily.

"But that's freezing cold. You shouldn't have survived!"

Jack gave her a hurt look. "Well if you want me to jump back in that can be arranged."

Karla shook her head frantically and was about to respond when an angry yell shook the clearing.

She had almost forgotten about the Boogeyman.

Karla whipped around to see the Nightmare King sprawled on his back as if someone had given him a hard shove. His scythe lay next to him, but it looked harmless as it dissolved back into formless sand. The army of nightmares was nowhere to be seen.

Far above their heads, the moon gave one final pulse of light before it collapsed tiredly behind thick clouds. The Wind blew mournfully through the trees, but no one paid it any attention.

"What game are you playing at, Old Friend," Pitch snarled at the sky.

The moon did not appear again to answer.

Pitch sneered and thrust out a hand at the sand that had once been his staff. The black lump jolted once but otherwise did not answer its master's call.

"Fine," Pitch shouted. "I do not need my sands to finish off Jack Frost."

"Jack! Watch out!" Karla and the others warned.

Jack turned just in time for the Nightmare King to fall upon him.

James screamed.

Karla was seconds away from joining the boy, but the sound never left her mouth. Instead, she gaped at the scene unable to understand.

The Boogeyman could not touch Jack Frost.

Jack turned back to the group when he heard his brother scream, worry clear in his eyes.

"James." James got to his feet and was instantly at his brother's side. "What's wrong bud?"

The boy collapsed into Jack's arms and wept.

"Hey, bud," Jack tried to sound reassuring. "It's okay. I'm here. It's okay. Let's just go home."

Gathering up his brother in his arms, Jack led the ragtag group of kids out of the dark forest.

"Karla?" Christina asked hesitantly after the pond had fallen far behind them.

Exhausted, Karla only grunted to let Christina know she had heard her.

"What… what just happened?" the brunette asked softly. Her voice shook.

Karla exchanged looks with Kyle and then looked up ahead to where she could make out Jack's back and James's head buried in his brother's shoulder. The poor boy was still shuddering from tears.

"I'm not sure," she finally answered.

Far behind, Pitch was still crouched next to the frozen pond, eyes wide in shock. His hands periodically twitched as if unsatisfied that they never had the chance to strangle Jack. Slowly, he brought his hands up to his face as if to make sure they were still there.

"I couldn't touch him," the man said softly. "I couldn't touch him."

He looked up to the sky, but the Moon was still concealed behind its clouds and could offer no answer.

"I couldn't touch him!" Pitch shouted at the sky.

Even the Wind did not stir.

A maniacal grin split over the Nightmare King's face.

It started off as a low chuckle and then grew and grew until the man could not hold himself up anymore. He did not care. He sprawled out onto the ground as hysterical laughter shook his body in scary, inhuman spasms.

Meanwhile, the Moon hid behind his clouds and wept.

* * *

Four figures emerged onto the street of Burgess. They were torn and bloodied, but they were alive and victorious.

"So why does it not feel like a victory?" the Queen Fairy questioned aloud.

"Something is wrong. I can feel it in—" North's words ended in a bout of harsh coughs, and Sandy floated over to his friend to rub his back comfortingly.

"Let's just find Jack," Bunny mumbled.

Each Guardian perked up at the mention of their youngest member.

They trudged up the road until they came upon the Bennett's residence. They did not bother knocking or anything, but simply helped themselves into the house. Navigating the dark hallways, they eventually found themselves outside one bedroom where soft whispering drifted out.

"Sleep well, bud. I'll be right next door."

Indistinct murmuring.

"Promise. You have nothing to worry about. I'm here to stay, so just get some sleep."

Jack appeared from the doorway and gently closed the door behind him.

"Jack," Tooth breathed in relief. She flew towards him to give a hug.

Jack turned toward her and…

…and walked _through _her.

Tooth gave a cry as if someone had pierced her and fell as her wings lost their strength.

"Frost?" Bunny whispered in horror. "No, no, Frostbite. It can't be. Come on, Frost. It's not funny."

The rabbit grabbed wildly at his friend. A stinging pain ran up Bunny's arm as his hands passed through Jack as if he were made of smoke.

"Jack, we're here. Why can't ya see us?" Bunny yelled.

Jack paused in his doorway and scanned the hallway. His brow furrowed in confusion. He thought he had heard something. Brown eyes swept over the dark hall to reveal nothing. The boy shook his head. It must have been the wind.

The teen shut the door, leaving the remaining Guardians shell-shocked in the corridor.

"Why can't ya see us?" Bunny moaned as he dropped to all fours, ears laid back.

"Because he doesn't believe in you anymore," a calm voice spoke from the darkness.

Weapons were up in an instant, but the dark man opened his empty hands to show he did not come to fight.

"Pitch," North spat. "What have you done?"

The Nightmare King laughed lowly. "For once, nothing."

"Why don't I believe ya, ya dirty lying—"

"Oh, please stop the name calling, rabbit," Pitch sighed. "I really did not come for a fight. I just don't have the strength anymore for that tonight. And really, the one you should be questioning is your own beloved Moon."

The Guardians all stared at Pitch in disbelief.

"Mim, would never… He would never hurt…" North stuttered.

"No, he wouldn't hurt his precious Guardian," Pitch agreed. "That's why Jack is the way he is. Mim loved the boy. That's why he gave him up. And if you loved him too, you would too."

Understanding started to dawn in the Guardians' eyes.

"He gave Jack a normal human life," Bunny murmured.

"That's right," Pitch concurred. "No responsibilities. No powers. No _belief._"

"And it's your fault, ya bloody lowlife," Bunny roared as he advanced on the Boogeyman.

Pitch raised an unimpressed eyebrow at Bunny's threatening approach.

"Oh, yes. It's all my fault. It's my fault that he's human, that he has a family and friends, that he has the one thing he's ever wanted," Pitch sneered sarcastically. "My fault for ruining the poor boy's life. I don't know how I ever live with myself sometimes."

Bunny faltered in his approach, and he gave a sorrowful look towards Jack's closed door.

North laid a firm hand on his friend's shoulder and turned towards Pitch. "Okay, Pitch. You have made you point. Now leave. You will not harm any member of this family."

Pitch was already turning away before North had finished his sentence. A flippant hand waved in the air, telling the Guardians the Pitch was leaving because _he _wanted to, not because the Guardians told him to.

"Yes, yes. It is late, isn't it? I guess, I should be turning in," Pitch announced oily. He gave the Guardians one last sneering look before he disappeared into the shadows. "And don't worry, Guardians. The boy means nothing to me now. He shall live the rest of his short days without any of my interference. I only came to see your expressions of despair when you realized you where the one thing that stood between that boy and his happiness."

* * *

The Wind howled its sorrow.

Its boy could no longer hear its voice. He would not even acknowledge its presence.

_My child, my child, _the Wind wept. _Come play! Fly! I wait, wait, wait…_

A voice answered, but it was not its winter child.

"It is sad, isn't it?"

The Wind whirled, slashing, whipping, _screaming _at the man who had done this to its child.

_I will never, never forgive you. You took him away, away, away…_

Pitch merely took the winds blows without a sound or motion to defend himself. The Wind beat on him—raged on him. It could have been a few minutes or days that it finally stopped. The Wind did not know time, but it did know that its winter child was gone forever. And forever was a long time.

When the Wind stopped and huddled itself into a tight ball of swirling misery, Pitch stood and held out a hand as if extending mercy to a rabid dog.

"I know what it is to be alone," Pitch soothed.

_I'm alone. It's all your fault, _the Wind snarled. _Never forgive… never forgive…_

Pitch continued as if he did not hear the Wind's voice. He probably couldn't.

"Do understand that I did not force the child's hand. He chose to be with his family. He was very brave in doing so."

The Wind calmed a little as grief wormed its way into its many emotions.

_Gone, gone, gone. _

"He could not leave his little brother," Pitch carried on.

_No. My child loves. Loves strongly. _

"It probably broke his heart to leave you, but understand that humans are fragile. Jack knew that and did not want to break his little brother. He knew you are strong and would be able to go on without him."

_Kind child. But alone, alone, alone…_

"But you don't have to go on alone."

The Wind loosened its tight cyclone of despair and peered out at the Nightmare King.

"We've both known loneliness. Why keep up this hurtful game?"

The Wind stared at the dark man.

_You took away my child, _the Wind snarled, but it was not as harsh a sound as it had been before. _Alone. But why should I go with you? Man of darkness. My child was light._

Pitch noted the Wind's reluctance and sighed, "Very well. I understand some grievances are just to deep to made up. I was hoping that we could at least share in one thing."

_Wait, wait, wait…_

The Wind swirled in front of Pitch, cutting off the man's exit. It did not want to be left alone just yet.

_Wait…_

The two entities confronted each other.

Pitch slowly offered a hand as if waiting to finish a business deal.

The Wind considered the hand.

_Flee! _shouted the free-spirited part of its nature. _We flew alone once. We can do it again!_

_Loneliness, _groaned the other part of the Wind. _What good is our beautiful flight if there is no one to share it with? _

The Wind hesitated too long.

Black sand shot out of Pitch's sleeve and wove its tendrils around the Wind.

_No! _the Wind cried. _I am Wind. I am Free. You cannot contain Wind._

But the Wind had lowered too many defenses, and Pitch's fear easily smashed through the remaining resistances.

"Shh," Pitch soothed the screaming Winds. "We won't be alone any more. In fact, you shall be mine."

The Wind screamed and thrashed at the fear that tainted its being.

It was a horrible battle that ripped through multiple continents and lasted over months, but Pitch was a patient man, and besides, the storms that brewed in the wake of their battles brought so much fear. Pitch was only getting stronger with this battle.

They ended up at Antarctica at the end of their struggle, which Pitch found both ironic and appropriate.

He had finally pinned the Wind down—as impossible as it seemed—and wound his fear tightly through the Wind. Magic swirled as the Wind finally submitted to Pitch's power. The Wind crumpled and out of its tired remains burst forth four terrors.

Four steeds reared and breathed their first icy breaths. Larger than any of Pitch's nightmares, they were a mass of swirling black sand and ice. Their forms shifted as if they were just barely being held together by some invisible force.

Wasting no time, Pitch tethered them with ropes of black sand and held them under a firm hand.

The four steeds fought their bonds as their nature commanded, but they were just as much fear as they were wind and therefore bound to the King of Fear himself.

"Easy, easy," Pitch purred. "We'll be together. I promise you won't be alone anymore. I always did think that cold and fear went together the best."

The four screamed. If it was out of anger or consent, no one could tell.

Pitch turned towards the north with a fierce grin on his face.

"Sweet dreams, Jack," the Nightmare King murmured. "I hope it was all worth it."

* * *

**The End**

* * *

**And there you have it. The dark alternate ending for my story. I hope that satisfies your Pitch love or all your dark desires. **

**Answers to anonymous reviews: **

**Guest (1): **And thanks for reviewing. You're very welcome :)

**BlueManiac359: **haha I'm glad you liked my response. It's fun to do that. Thanks for your review and I would love to see any art you might do. Be sure to let me know

**Guest (2): **Thanks so much for your review!

**SplashSJQ: **Thanks for the review! I don't know if I'll ever write that scene of Jack reuniting with his mom. It would definitely be a sweet scene, but I have yet to get any inspiration for a scene like that. If I do though, I will definitely post it.

**~playing-in-the-mud**


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